Founded December
17,1912 Ceased
Publication Thursday February 1, 1951
Book 1
Volume 16
This is a previous issue re-worked with Nvu
Saturday,
March 06, 2004 7:34 AM 54 deg at LVIA and 51.8 in the bus stop
Golly, another
week of these things are
starting. A week surely goes fast. As I look at the masthead and see
that this is the 16th issue of this web page. For the most part, most
folks have received this new concept favorably. The pictures really
make a difference. Who ever said one picture is worth a thousand words
had it right. However, there are still some recipients who can’t open
the pictures.
It is a rainy, damp, morning here although it is not cold at all as I
sat out on the lower park bench this morning with my 8 o’clock coffee.
This morning the
blood glucose is 136
and the weight 203. We are going down to get Queen’s prescription and
then a trip to Wal-Mart is on tap.
It was a rainy
busy trip. The stores
were crowded but it was really no hassle for us. Aldi had nice
strawberries and Queen also wanted fresh spinach. By the time we were
headed home, it was beginning to clear off a bit.
I came upon this old picture showing the old Catholic Church in the
background. I think that is the top of my sister Mary’s Studebaker in
front of our house. She died in 1973 and she had three VW beetles after
her Studebakers, so it has to be pretty darn old.
Well, it looks as
though Martha Stewart
is headed for the slammer. I only followed the story with passing
interest without an opinion one-way or the other. However, now you
can’t miss it. It is as usual. It has become another O. J. Simpson
story, with the media giving it a full court press. Last evening as I
was in bed before going to sleep, I had one of those cable news
programs on and a former Securities and Exchange regulator who made my
mind up for me.
Up until then, I always thought
that with all the big bucks
that change hands there on Wall Street every day, the Enron’s and their
ilk, this was such a small potatoes enterprise. Going after a woman
who built up an ongoing and thriving empire from nothing and who had to
claw and fight her way to the top to build a business that many women
trust and enjoy, was really nothing more than overkill. It
was a waste of taxpayers money, with much bigger fish out
there still loose.
This man made me
completely change my
mind. He said the entire securities business is based on a system of
trust. If the trust and integrity of the basic system is compromised,
the whole works goes down the tubes. In the kind of world where
temptation is so obviously available to folks working at their
“counting houses” in their day-to-day jobs, all kinds of privileged
information is available that could easily be used by unscrupulous
people to make big money.
He said Martha had previous business
knowledge of the securities
industry and should know the rules. In addition, she had a woman Judge,
a jury-representing women her age composed of careful, thoughtful,
people. He said she had an ideal trial scene that couldn’t have been
more favorable to her personally. From what some of the jurors said
afterwards, they wanted to find her innocent but they could not do
it. He then pointed out that the Government’s case must have
been very compelling because she was found guilty on all four charges
with the most serious charge having been thrown out.
The thing that changed my mind was
his statement that it makes no
difference why people on Wall Street obey the securities laws, be it
conscience, or fear of being caught, just so long as they do it.
This was a strong message that no one can cheat and not live in fear of
retribution. He said the word must now be out that, the Government will
go after anyone big or small, who violates this trust. This makes sense
to me.
Gee whiz, here
comes what my Dad used to
call a public service ad when we ran the old Palmerton Press newspaper.
“Bob
- I have another favor to ask of you. When I read your weekly epistles
and some of the responses from
those who receive them, I realize that
there
are so many who probably have
not had the opportunity to buy our video.
So
many of the things they mention
are included in the tape. For example:
in
the video we interview Clara
Kleintop who attended high school in the
Franklin building and she talks
about a teacher's strike that took place
when she was there. She also
attended the kindergarten when it was at
Fourth
and Lehigh. The video has
received a Communicator's Award, runs for 61
minutes and is a mere $19.95
plus shipping. Perhaps those who
don't belong
to the society would be
interested in joining and then they would
receive
our quarterly newsletter which
has gotten rave reviews and has
interesting
items about Palmerton then and
now. If anyone is interested in
purchasing a
video and/or joining the
society, they could contact me and I would be
more
than happy to send the necessary
info.
Betsy Burnhauser
7796 Bake Oven Road
Germansville, PA 18053
610-767-2711
anteek@enter.net”
We do have a
copy and it is interesting.
It is a lovely afternoon. I was out
sitting on the park bench enjoying
the warm, sunny, balmy, but breezy afternoon.
Tonight for supper was a first of the
year. Queen made homemade
strawberry shortcake. Man, but it was good. That and a slab of sharp
cheese, a cup of coffee and a last bite of her ice-cream bar made for
an excellent meal.
http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/viewer/flash/flash.html
This is a
site where you can view the sun it looks interesting.
Sunday,
March 07, 2004 7:25 AM 43 deg at LVIA and 40.2 in the bus stop
It is a mixed bag
sort of day today.
Later it is to rain and then turn to snow overnight. Phooey!!
As soon as the
coffee is ready,
Butternut and I will be heading outdoors. I just got an e-mail from
Barbara Shepherd and she says the geese are still flying north over her
place in Florida and that I can expect more. <8:14 AM>
Golly, she was right. I was sitting on the glider and saw seven gaggles
of geese all within a period of 10 minutes. Then it slowed to nothing.
They were all flying separately but all headed north, a good sign. The
early sun has disappeared but it is still a nice day outside.
Now, it is sunny
and beautiful. We would
like to go for a walk as soon as Queen’s hair dries.
Once again in
looking over some old
color slides I took many years ago, I found these pictures. I am not
even certain they all represent the same event.
I noticed on the original of this first picture on the left, that the
Palm Theater was still there and there is a banner out
there informing everyone the Blue Ridge Cable TV
was televising this parade. They had their studios in the old Snyder
green grocery store at that time.
In this one I see Reverend George McKinley on the podium of the Butz
flat bed truck with other big wigs. Also, notice the WW2
service plaque to his right.
Above
left, is Miss Carbon County, the now Nancy Costenbader. The fire works
were at the old ballpark. I think there was also an Ox roast. Someplace
I have pictures of it.
Here
are folks at the parade. Ed Harpe can be seen in the background. The
band features daughter, Mary, with the saxophone.
Here
she is
afterwards. Notice the A&P sign in the distance.
Tomorrow is
Queen’s birthday and I have
to bake a birthday cake this afternoon. It is going to be a Connie
cake. That is within my baking abilities.
<Later>. We went for our walk
this afternoon after lunch.
Golly but many folks were also out walking. We saw at a distance Jean
and Bill Bechtoldt, who entered Columbia Avenue
ahead of us near 4th Street.
After my rest, I proceeded to mix
Queen’s cake. It is now baking. Queen
is looking for an easy recipe for a frosting to prepare. I am not a
pastry chef but a meat and potatoes cook!!
Tonight for supper she is making pork
tenderloins, a small red baked
potato each, a tomato salad, and a veggie melody. It was excellent.
Then we finished icing her cake. Queen, bless her heart, took mercy on
me and did all of the icing ingredient measuring and I mixed it and
applied it to the cake. It does look good, but I cannot take any credit
for the icing.
Monday,
March 08, 2004 7:31 AM 39 Deg at LVIA and 38.3 in the bus stop
Well, here
she is.” My
Queen.” Today is her 87th birthday
I have been
awaiting the “Queen” to pull
her ears. I caught her coming down the steps and managed the job of ear
pulling, all 87 times with plenty to grow. Today is the dreaded sheet
day so she doesn’t even get a day off. Golly!!
This morning my blood glucose
is 142 and my weight is 203.
This is a wet damp day so far, but there were predicting three inches
of snow by morning. So far, we have been lucky. I see here on the
Internet that the winter storm warnings have been canceled. I think I
will go to the “Ironworks” this morning for a bit of a
workout.<Later> I have been down and back. It was not at
all crowded today.
Tonight Queen and I will be going to
the Terrace Restaurant. Thanks to
the gift of our dinner out, by Mr. Thomas P. Davies. This is
a wonderful and appreciated gift.
This afternoon when I came down from
a nap, there was a lovely bouquet
of flowers from our wonderful neighbors, Jean and Mike Dichysn for
Queen.
<Later> 6:06 PM, we are back.
Thanks to Mr. Davies, we
had a superb meal. We each had an excellent salad bar, a pair of
Manhattans each, London broil with onions and mushrooms, potato
patties, carrots, and coffee. We were too full for dessert. Queen had
to avail herself of a doggie bag for the excess. Earlier at lunch, we
had a piece of Queen’s birthday cake.
Well, this morning Dr Nicholson’s
office called to tell me that he
wants me to make an appointment with a cardiologist. My EKG seems to
have “abnormalities” in it. Apparently, it is on both of them.
Therefore, they set up an appointment with Queen’s cardiologist, Dr
Kolecki, with whom Queen has an appointment next week. So, I shall go
then also. We both like him as a doctor; I will do what I have to do.
Really, I am not surprised. My
Dad had heart problems. He had
a heart attack and was forced into retirement in 1939 and through the
sacrifice of my brother, Dick, and his coming back to run the business
doing a job he hated and leaving one he loved, my Dad lived another 10
years and died in 1949 at 69 years of age. Hey, in 1939 I was a 13 year
old kid.
In those days, the cardiology
practice was very limited in
what they could do. Now, it is so very much improved so, it may be the
apples not falling far from the tree thing may come into play here as
well. One can pick their friends, but not their relatives. Ha!!
Our lives changed drastically when we discovered that Queen had
congestive heart failure. She does not quit. She won’t let me quit
either. She is a fighter. I want to be here for her if she needs me. I
love that girl with all my heart and soul. She is always there for
everyone else. Now, I want to be there for her, if she needs me. Since
her diagnosis, we have been really trying to improve not only her
health, but my health as well.
One of my biggest problems is my
weight and we have both been working
hard at it. Readers may notice that my weight and blood glucose is
included every day. Part of this is so I can’t fudge the numbers later,
[what,` who me?] Ha!!
Of course, the diabetes complicates
the whole problem. Dr Nicholson
said if the blood glucose gets to 170, a course of medication would be
instituted. I have a glucose meter with software that permits me to
download all my readings, and then I print them out and take them to
him on my visits. He will not start any medication without a hospital
blood test. These test strips are merely a guide that enables me to
monitor how I am doing.
Sometimes Bobby "piggy" wins,
sometimes I win. However, I plan
to give it my best shot. The motivation is there!!
Tonight I took a piece of Queen’s
birthday cake to Mike and Jean. Mike
said,” hey, don’t worry about it. If it were really bad, the Doctor
would have taken a lot stronger action than that.” True enough.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that I am not at death’s door. In all
honesty, now at 77 years of age, I feel the best I have felt
in a long time. Somehow, I think Dr Nicholson’s change of my blood
pressure medicine from Covera HS to Verelan PM, made a big difference.
He also gave me samples of Nexium that certainly hasn’t hurt either.
I do expect more tests. However
there is always the fear of
the unknown. Really, at 77, I have had a lot fewer problems than many
other men my age. In years, I have already outlived my sister Mary,
brother, Dick, and my Dad. However, my Mom lived to 89 and my sister
Dot lived to 86, my grandfather Ashelman lived into his 90s. I
do have a goal. I am not ungrateful. I am a contented man and I have an
easy mind. Thank God, I do not have any demons chasing around inside
my head!! Ha!!
The above picture was taken quite a few years ago. If you notice, Dick
King’s house was not built yet over on 3rd Street and the wall is still
standing around the cemetery.
Tonight, Queen got
phone calls tonight
from the kids. It is always good to hear from them. Belva and Fritz
will be stopping by on Wednesday for supper. We haven’t seen them since
New Years Eve.
Tuesday,
March 09, 2004 7:16 AM 34 deg at LVIA and 32.5 in the bus stop
This morning the
blood sugar was, 134
and the weight still 203. It is a cloudy day this morning. I am headed
out with the coffee and camera. <7:53 AM> I am back
inside. There was nothing worth photographing this morning. I sat on
the lower park bench watching the rest of the world get ready to go to
work with scattered snowflakes swirling about me.
Here is some stuff
from Henry Schwartz.
I love em!! I may have used before. They are still good.
“I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the
poison
control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because
she
caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that
the
ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her
daughter
into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the
conversation
happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant
poison
to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she better
bring
her daughter into the Emergency room right away.
Here's
your sign, lady. Wear it with pride.
Number
Two Idiot of 2003
Early
this year, some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal
a
life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out
of
the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the
river,
they noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them. It
turned
out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator
beacon
that activated when the raft was inflated. They are no longer
employed
at Boeing.
A
man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the Branch
and
wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While
standing
in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to
worry
that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police
before
he reached the teller's window. So he left the Bank of America
and
crossed the street to the Wells Fargo Bank. After waiting a few
minutes
in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read
it
and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest
light
in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note
because
it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he
would
either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to
Bank
of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left.
He
was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at
Bank
of America.
A
motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that
measured
his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later
received
in the mail a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. Instead of
payment,
he sent the police department a photograph of $40.
Several
days later, he received a letter from the police that contained
another
picture, this time of handcuffs. He immediately mailed in his
$40.
A
guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun and demanded all
of
the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier put the cash in a
bag,
the robber saw a bottle of Scotch that he wanted behind the counter
on
the shelf. He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but the
cashier
refused and said, "Because I don't believe you are over 21."The
robber
said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him
because
he didn't believe him. At this point, the robber took his
driver's
license out of his wallet and gave it to the clerk. The clerk
looked
it over and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and he put
the
Scotch in the bag. The robber then ran from the store with his loot.
The
cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of
the
robber that he got off the license. They arrested the robber two
hours
later.
This morning Queen
and I went for our
regular Columbia Avenue walk. It wasn’t a gorgeous day but the
snowflakes falling were pretty to see. Now at 11:39 AM the sun is out
for the first time today.
But
now at 3:43 PM
It has been doing
this off and on all
day. This kind of a snow burst is what has been responsible for some of
the horrendous accidents on I 80 and I 81 in upper Carbon County for
the last few days.
Tonight we dined in God’s restaurant
with Queen’s spaghetti. Absolutely
top drawer stuff. I saved some for lunch. I never used to do that. This
is to tweak Bobby piggy’s nose!! Ha!
Before supper, I was delighted to
receive a phone call from an old
friend, Dr. David Horn, a now retired professor of Chemistry who is
now living in New Freedom, Pa. It was great to be able to
speak with him again.
He even spoke of the possibility of
going back to work again, but it
will be something on his terms. He said that now he has all the time in
the world to golf, but physical limitations with a very sore shoulder,
preclude his ability to do so.
Right now
he is going through what I did, when my Sister Mary, died. His sister
is in a Hospice near them dying of brain cancer. Queen and I know the
pain of watching a loved one die a bit at a time. I told Queen if that
ever happens to me to go out and hire a Mafia hit man. Gee, Whiz but it
is hard.
In the course of
our conversation, he
asked about Dr. David Guyer. His wife Susan, was speaking to someone
about doctors during all this running back and forth to the hospice
every day, and they told her that they had a doctor, a Dr.
David Guyer, in Reading, Pa, who was an anesthesiologist and wanted to
know if that could possibly be our Dr David Guyer? I assured him that
it was not; our Dr. David is still in North Carolina at the Duke
University Hospital. However, he plans to move his cardiology practice
back north sometime soon. David Horn thought if he was in Reading, they
could visit with him much more readily. We all had some great times
together particularly at Squam Lake in N.H.
Dave
and Dave cleaning fish at Squam
lake
Dr David Guyer and Family
Queen, Dr.
David
Horn, Susan Horn, and Tommy Davies. Good folks all.
Wednesday,
March 10, 2004 7:30 AM 34 deg at LVIA and 33.2 in the bus stop
This morning the
blood glucose was142
but the weight was 202. It is still “spritzing” snow today. We will be
heading out shortly.
We were out and
now back inside. It
isn’t exactly an inspiring day, weather wise. I saw Lee Bollinger
walking down Columbia Ave, but he didn’t ‘t see me.
Queen informs me
that she will go with
me to the “Ironworks”.
That is good. This whole thing
started several years ago when Queen
sweet-talked me into going to improve my conditioning for the swimming
season at the Palmerton Memorial Park. It used to
take me several weeks to work up to my swimming shape. The deal
was, if I could jump in the pool on the first swim of the new
season and swim my 1/3 of a mile[ i.e. 20 laps], without pausing to
rest, I would be a believer. Well I tried it and I was able to do it
easily. Geez, I have been swimming there for well over 50 years. This
is my only real participating sport and I love it. I love the water in
general. I do miss my Sunfish sailboat, also. Oh, well.
Bobby
in his Sunfish
I guess we shall
be leaving for the
“Ironworks soon”. <Later> We are back and had a very good
time of it today. It was not crowded and both of us had an excellent
session. Queen had no problems accessing all the machines she likes and
I had my usual walk on the treadmill and then the upper body stuff to
help my swimming.
Queen met
a Lucille Sheckler who was in Belva’s High school class she will soon
be a great grandmother. We settled
our debt with them for this month. We told Jason, the man in charge,
that when the weather gets warmer we would be putting our memberships
on hold. Then there will be more than enough exercise during the spring
cleaning up the property and getting ready for the new season.
Then we went out to Sunoco in
Aquashicola for gas, oil check, and
“spring air “in the tires. We put the car away and will await the
arrival of our guests today.
For anyone interested in crossword
puzzles try this site,
http://crosswordpuzzles.0catch.com/index.htm
It has tons of
crossword puzzles on it.
This afternoon
Belva and Fritz stopped
by for a visit and dinner. It was great to see them again. It
was last New Years since we saw them last. We had a good visit before
they had to return home. Fritz is doing quite well after his siege in
the hospital.
Thursday,
March 11, 2004 7:18 AM 27 deg at LVIA and 24.3 in the bus stop
This morning the
blood glucose is 132
and the weight 201. I really feel good this morning. I certainly hope
my cardiac problems are not too bad. We shall see next week.
It is a beautiful day this morning. Butternut and I will be heading out
shortly.
Here is a site that provides
historical pictures on line,
http://www.picturehistory.com/
It has some interesting historical
old pictures on site.
This morning we
plan to do our food
shopping.<Later> We had a very smooth
uneventful trip this morning. The grazing at Giant was good
today. We got a filet of steelhead trout that we will be having for
supper tonight.
First
Crocus in the yard
Queen called me to see the first crocus coming out in the
yard under the dogwood tree. Golly, but it is a beautiful day this
afternoon!
Great news for my
classical music taste.
Now my KDFC is back on line streaming audio at,
http://kdfc.com/
They were on but then taken off.
This is great news for all folks like me who enjoy good
classical music.
Tonight for supper
we had a ¾
lb steelhead trout filet. Golly, but it was good. The lady at Giant
skinned it and I washed and dried it and put it on a dinner plate. Then
I sprinkled lemon juice all over it. Salted it, spread dill weed all
over it, sprayed it with low cal spray butter, then thin sliced a half
a box of fresh mushrooms over it. I added more spray butter and a dash
of salt and a dash more lemon juice. Then I put it in the microwave
with a cloth over it and cooked it for 3 minutes. It was perfect.
Queen fixed two red potatoes that were microwaved, a serving each of
fresh string beans, and then made some of her excellent
coleslaw. In addition, we had low fat cottage
cheese with it, a cup of fresh coffee, and a small piece of her
birthday cake. That made for a superb meal. I saved enough fish for a
lunch. As I said before, we eat damn well here. Ha!!
Friday,
March 12, 2004 7:16 AM 39 deg at LVIA and 34.8 in the bus stop
This morning my
weight is 200
½ but the blood glucose is 150. No one has ever explained
why that happens to me after a fish meal.
The sun is out and
it is going to be
chilly and windy today with possible snow showers off and on all day. I
will be heading outside in a moment.
<7:37 AM
Later> I am back
inside, It is almost cold enough for a winter jacket, but I did enjoy
sitting on the lower park bench. I got a hail from Lee Bollinger who
was walking by on his morning constitutional. One could see the clouds
scurrying across the sky from west to east at a good clip. It
is quite blustery today
Now I am listening
to my favorite
classical music station KDFC in San Francisco. It is 7:48 AM here and
4:48 am out
there.
This morning Queen
and I plan to go to
the “Ironworks” for a shot at the equipment.
<Later at 11:06
AM> We are
back from the "works”. We both had a good workout. Queen used the
bicycle, the arm and leg machine[ below], and then the treadmill.
I got my
heart rate up on the
treadmill, cooled down, and then went on to the upper body stuff. This
time I did 100 of the bend over tummy exercises. All this stuff is
gradually getting easier for both of us. Queen always finds someone to
speak with. I think she enjoys herself as much as I do.
I got this from Barbara Shepherd. I
loved it!!
“Stock Market Statistics If you
had purchased $1,000.00 of Nortel stock
one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.
With Enron, you would have $16.50 left of the
original $1,000.00.
With WorldCom, you would have
less than $5.00 left.
But, if you had purchased
$1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank
all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling price,
you would have $214.00.
Based on the above, current
investment advice is to drink heavily and
recycle.
It's called the 401-Keg Plan.”
It is about time to close this
epistle for this week. I must print a
copy of it for my stalwart proofreader and then send it on to the net.
Please love one another, Mom and Bob
[Queen and Bobby]
The following are two of
my very favorite quotations. They say a lot,
about what is important in this life.
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that
counts can be counted.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), sign hanging in Albert
Einstein's office at Princeton
“Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection--that is
the last and final and most precious reward that any man can win,
whether by character or achievement.”
Mark Twain 1835 1910
