Founded December
17,1912 Ceased
Publication Thursday
February 1, 1951
BOOK
1 Volume 24
This page is a re-worked version of
the original done with Nvu
Recently son, George, and grandsons Andy, and Jason, encouraged me to
turn this from a letter into a web page. A web page offers a vast new
opportunity to also display pictures along with text. They set it up
and instructed me how to put it on line every week. Bear in mind, for
this old geezer, this represents rocket science.
I do have an
agenda. I try to write an upbeat page
with a bit of humor
and not get too confrontational in my opinions. I do have some very
firm opinions that have a way of working their way into these letters.
I am also very much computer oriented and try to do as much as I can to
encourage their use. I do regret that most of the pictures have to be
reduced in size, due to space limitations from Prolog, thus limiting
their quality.
I hope to reach out to former Palmertonians, as well as other friends
and relatives, with whom I would like to maintain contact. We may not
agree on everything, however, my intentions are honorable.
I suppose the on
going saga of the adventures of
Queen and Bobby is
about as fascinating as watching paint dry or grass growing. We don’t
lead a very fast paced life. However, with us what you see is what you
get. I really must say that there is a lot of love in this house.
If anyone is offended by my content I am sorry but
at
77 years
of age, I am doing something I enjoy very much. I am not about to
change my ways now. As our late son Jack said,"I am me and you are
you.” Phrased more succinctly, "Tough beans” There is always the delete
key. Ha!!
Our
Butternut
Saturday,
May 01,
2004 8:47 AM 54 Deg. at LVIA and 62.7 in the bus stop
Gee, I am late
starting my morning post. I have been up and out for Quite awhile. I
had to put the newspapers out for the Church people to pick up and have
been generally a busy boy this morning. My blood glucose is 147 and the
weight 205.
We went Shea’s,
and then up to Wal-Mart this morning. I got some parts for the front
door stoop at Shea’s. While we were in Shea’s we met attorney Roger
Nanovic who also needed something.
At Wal-Mart, Queen wanted some garden
paving blocks, some honey, and a
few other things I can’t remember.
This morning
when we were at Wal-Mart I was conversing with Milan Brestivonsky, who
is their best greeter. We were both admiring the spring scenery. No not
the flowers, but the people who come and go in and out of that store.
Particularly the young female customers who on a Saturday are dressed,
“casually “Oye Vey”. Very little is left to the imagination these days.
Hey, for us old geezers the imagination is one of the few things we
have left. Geez!!
Yesterday my
neighbor, Jim Kech, who has the nice new grass, told me what he did to
achieve the beautiful grass he has. Part of the secret is to cover the
new seed with burlap and water it well. After we got back and I
unloaded the blocks from the car, I applied some seed-mulch combo stuff
we got last year. This time I covered it with a piece of burlap that
Jim gave me. I watered it well and now we shall
see. There
is a lot to do out there.
I also got an
e-mail from Bill Gersbach, K3BTU, in which he sent some really great
pictures of this area.
This
is a picture taken by Bill in 1933
“The picture was taken from up
stairs in our living room .The apartment
was above Charlie Kline’s garage we had 3 bedrooms and a large living
room upstairs and a kitchen and dining room shown stairs in the rear of
the garage”.
This is a
closer shot of the
storefronts. The car
picture is a photo of Ray Beers 1928 Whippet. He is parked in front of
Beers store with the awnings. Notice the old gas pump in front
of
Klein’s garage.
In
1915, this is, what I think, is the
same place where Bill took his picture.
But it is taken from Bob Reinhart’s
1915 panoramic photo of
town.
Beers store with the old red wooden bridge behind it was used by us to
go to the Delaware school building. I recall as a kid getting heck from
Mom because we kids used to stand on it when a steam engine went by
underneath and getting into the smoke.
Needless to
say, Mom took
great exception to
how I smelled when I got home. Sheez!!
Across the street I believe is a
picture of somebody near the back
porch in the house diagonally across from the garage.
Delaware School
This
afternoon I went to my
barber and then had my bath. I will be prepared for the new week. Ha!!
This
morning the dogwood is in full
bloom, Queen thought I had best get a few pictures before they are past
their prime.
Tonight for
supper, Queen had beef chow
mien over
rice. Along with some cottage cheese, it was good. That finishes the
last of the roast we had in this past week.
We ate out in the bus stop for the
first time this year. I
had to
do an emergency quickie clean up so that there was just enough room for
two plates on the picnic table.
Golly, but is was nice sitting there
by candlelight having our dinner.
We do have nice neighbors. A museum to the east of us, a historic
cemetery directly in front of us, and to the west of us one
of
the best Italian cooks in Carbon County. It is a marvelous combination.
Sunday,
May 02, 2004 7:34 AM 66 deg at
LVIA and 66 deg in the bus stop
It is a dreary
looking morning with
attempts at
rain. I was out for just a bit while Butternut took care of essential
matters, but it was dripping too much to stay at that time.
Maybe later. This morning the blood
glucose was a not so hot 154 and
the weight 204.
There is a lot
to do outdoors but it isn’t very conducive weather to accomplish much
with all this slop here.
Tomorrow I go to get my head examined. No, it is an ear test.
Ha!! We also want to go to Alex Kaslick’s viewing. He was a good man.
His wife Pauline, who was a telephone operator along with Queen, is not
in good health herself.
The other day Bob Reinhart pointed
out to me the amazing detail of the
old picture he sent several weeks ago that I used then. I looked for
myself. This is what I found.
A
small portion from this,
To
this
The
detail from this old large 1915
panoramic photograph is amazing.
This is a portion of the picture from
Bob and Connie Rinehart. Bob told
me to check it out for detail. This is just a very small portion of the
large photo. The amount of detail is amazing for the technology of the
time. It must have been a time exposure on very fine grain film. As you
can see, our house, the church next door, the cemetery, as well as
Bob’s place is here in the picture .I think it is nothing short of
amazing. The file size of his original photo is 86.5 MB
(90,724,014 bytes) in TIF Image format. The picture program on the
computer has to grind like Hell to load it even with 265 MB of RAM.
Hey, if someone wants their area enlarged and shown I can try.
Since it is such
a lousy day, Queen gave her marching orders. Change your bed !!!,” I am
washing.” Geez, that means that tomorrow will not be the dreaded sheet
day, Ha!!
I got this from Tommy’s and my friend
Russ Howell, in Texas. Man, he
hit it on the head.
I thought of you Bob when I
first read this. Happy dieting!!!
Russ :)
In the beginning God covered the earth
with
broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach, green, yellow, and red vegetables
of all kinds; so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's
bountiful gifts, Satan created Ben and
Jerry's
and Krispy Kreme. And Satan said, "You want hot fudge with
that?"
And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "I'll have another with
sprinkles." And lo they gained 10 pounds.
And God created the
healthful yogurt that Woman might keep
the
figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from
the wheat, and sugar from the cane, and combined them. And Woman went
from size 2 to size 10.
So God said, "Try my
fresh green salad." And Satan presented
crumbled Bleu Cheese dressing and garlic toast on the side. And Man and
Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.
God then said, "I have
sent you heart healthy vegetables and
olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth
deep
fried coconut shrimp, butter dipped lobster chunks and chicken-fried
steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man's cholesterol went
through the roof.
God then brought forth
running shoes so that his Children
might
lose those extra pounds. And Satan came forth with a cable TV
with remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the
channels. And man and woman laughed and cried before the flickering
light and started wearing stretch jogging suits.
Then God brought forth
the potato, naturally low in fat and
brimming with potassium and good nutrition. Then Satan peeled off the
healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried
them in animal fats and added copious quantities of salt. And Man put
on more pounds.
God then gave lean beef
so that Man might consume fewer
calories
and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and the
99-cent double cheeseburger. Then Lucifer said, "You want fries with
that?" and Man replied, "Yes! And super size em!" And Satan said, "It
is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created
quadruple bypass surgery.
And Satan
created HMOs.
Amen
While we
were out side with Butternut, a woman came by, and came up the swale to
speak with Queen She had lived in Kansas at one time and had a Beagle.
She wanted to meet Butternut. However, Butternut would not go anywhere
near them. Sheez!
I took some
pictures of the Azaleas that are just beginning to bud. They are going
to be beautiful this year. It is great to watch each thing reach it’s
season.
Geez! How about this?
I tried to
contact my brother in law for the first time in over a week and this is
what I got from AOL. Those Bastards are evil!!
*********************************************************************
Connected to 64.12.137.121 but greeting failed.
Remote host said: 554-(RLY:B1) The information presently
available to AOL indicates this
554-server is generating high volumes of member complaints from AOL's
554-member base. Based on AOL's Unsolicited Bulk E-mail
policy at
554-http://www.aol.com/info/bulkemail.html AOL may not accept further
554-e-mail transactions from this server or domain. For more
information,
554 please visit http://postmaster.info.aol.com.
Tonight for
supper Queen had a boneless pork chop each, stewed potatoes with
Vidalia onion in it, fresh green beans, grape tomatoes, and Cottage
cheese. A cup if Melita coffee and the last bite of her ice cream bar.
It was outstanding.
Monday,
May 03, 2004 7:12 AM 543 deg
at LVIA and 51 deg in the bus stop
This morning the
blood glucose is 141
and the weight
204.
It is a dreary
looking morning today. It was raining when I let Butternut out and it
is expected to shower all morning. It rained hard last evening.
This morning we
plan to go to Alex Kaslick’s viewing, then I must go to Lehighton to
the hearing aid people for an assessment of my head. Ha!! Then Queen
wants to continue out to Wal-Mart for a few more plants like those that
she had gotten earlier. They are “forget-me-nots”, a perennial.
This from my neighbor and friend,
Mike,
Subject: Ears
A
woman loses both ears in an accident. A plastic surgeon she
consults tells her that ear transplants are still in the testing
stage,
but he will do what he can.
The woman undergoes the operation, and after a time she
returns
to the surgeon's office to have the bandages removed and the
stitches
taken out. After examining her, the doctor tells her everything
seems
to have gone well, and she seems pleased with his work. The next
day,
however, she calls the plastic surgeon in a rage.
"You know what you did?" she screams. "You gave me a man's
ears."
"Well," says the surgeon, "an ear is an ear. What's wrong?
Can't
you hear?"
"I hear everything," she says. "The problem is, I
don't
understand anything I'm told."
I am sure Queen
concurs with this.!!
This
is what the 400 block of
Franklin Avenue looked like in 1915
It looks as though the rain has
stopped for the moment. Now at 09:30,
we are back from the first of our trips. I must be in Lehighton at 11
am.
These are from Barbara Shepherd with
an aside to George Ashman:
Subject: PUNS They say that
puns are the lowest form of
humor.
However, some, like these are an art form.
Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid
bowlers.
However, all the Swiss league records were unfortunately destroyed in a
fire.Thus, we'll never know for Whom the Tell's Bowled.
A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins
that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of
seagulls. One day his supply of the birds ran out.
So he
had to go out and trap some more. On the way back, he spied
two
lions asleep on the road. Afraid to wake them, he gingerly
stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and charged
with
transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.
Back in the 1800s the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to
produce other products and, since they already made the cases for
pocket watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling
west. It turned out that although their watches were of
finest
quality; their compasses were so bad that people often ended up in
Canada or Mexico rather than California.
This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates,
is lost!"
An Indian chief was feeling very sick, so he summoned the medicine
man. After a brief examination, the medicine man took out a
long,
thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, instructing him to
bite off, chew and swallow one inch of the leather every day.
After a month, the medicine man returned to see how the chief was
feeling. The chief shrugged and said, "The thong is ended,
but
the malady lingers on."
A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name
missing from the town register. His wife insisted on
complaining
to the local civic official who apologized profusely saying, "I must
have taken Lief off my census."
There were three Indian squaws. One slept on a deer skin, one
slept on an elk skin and the third slept on a hippopotamus
skin.
All three became pregnant and the first two each had a baby
boy.
The one who slept on the hippopotamus skin had twin boys.
This
goes to prove that the squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sons
of the squaws of the other two hides.
A skeptical anthropologist was cataloging South American folk remedies
with the assistance of a tribal brujo who indicated that the leaves of
a particular fern were a sure cure for any case of
constipation.
When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the brujo looked him in
the eye and said, "Let me tell you, with fronds like these, who needs
enemas?"
I
think the above are
priceless. They are so bad they are among the
best I ever read. Thanks, Barbara!!
We got back about 1PM. The test went
well. It was about what I
expected. She said my recognition of words was excellent, but I lacked
comprehension, particularly of consonants. So, in the test I listened
to a man’s voice and had to repeat them back to her while facing away
from her. The words were mostly consonants. It
seemed like
a very comprehensive test. Tonight at supper, I told Queen I certainly
hope this helps. Two Grand is a Hell of a lot of money for it. However,
I don’t want to withdraw into myself because I simply can’t understand
folks. Let us hope!!
Tonight we had
our meal in God’s restaurant. However, we ate inside tonight. It is raw
and cold out there, we had Queen’s homemade spaghetti, it was wonderful
as usual. I have to agree with friend Tommy when he says, “If God made
anything better, he is keeping it for himself”.
This
is Hazard Road and Princeton Avenue above it in 1915.
.
A
modern picture of town but lacking
greatly in detail.
Queen is busy at her computer
tonight.
Tuesday,
May 04, 2004 7:20 AM 39 Deg
at LVIA and 42 2 in the bus stop
It is a beautiful day here this
morning. The blood glucose is 137 and
the weight is 204. The lesson from this reading, eat more spaghetti.
Ha!!
In this morning’s e-mail, I got this
very welcome message from George
Keller, W3SAP in Florida.
“Hi Bob,
Thanks for sending your web page. You are doing a nice job.
Looking at the Ham pictures brought back a lot of fond memories for me.
Those were good times for me. I
remember well the "antenna party" at
Nobel's
house. I also remember getting
you setup on 440. I can still picture
Bill
sitting at my kitchen table
drinking red wine and sharing his glass with
Bruno my basset hound all the
while telling stories about his great
adventures with flying. As
I said, many fond memories.
We
are about to move to AZ. In fact, we will be leaving in about two weeks.
We are going to be closer to
family. My present email address will
change.
Not sure what it will be yet but
I only have one choice for high speed
Internet where we are going. I
will be pulling this computer off line
shortly. Will send you the new
address when I am back on. Expect to be
off
for two to three weeks.
Sure
was a nice article about you, enjoyed reading it. Nice press. I had my
name in the newspaper once, I
think I got parking tickect or something
like
that. Ha
Take care, keep on having fun.
73,
George W3SAP”
As I say, I
always enjoy hearing from old friends as well as new ones. This new
endeavor of mine has brought me so much gratification in finding old
friends long forgotten and renewing old acquaintances. However, the
ability to reach out to new folks pleases me also very much. I an not
ungrateful that the good Lord has permitted this to take place.
I found a
bunch of interesting stuff from the
large picture
Bob
Reinhart sent me. It is a veritable treasure trove of stuff. One can
literally spend hours looking at stuff. Here are some more.
This
is is a blow up at lower left corner is the Historical society’s
“Little White Church”. Then up to Towamensing Church and
Cemetery. The house where Anne Rodda now lives is there also.
I
got
this from Bob Green
I was going around the internet
after reading my e-mail and
found
this site from Kim Komando. It looks interesting.
http://www.cookingbynumbers.com/frames.html
it shows on a page of
possible list of things in your fridge and in your cupboard, it allows
you to select what you have there, and finds an appropriate recipe. It
looks like a very good idea. I found some interesting ideas there.
This morning before noon I cut the
grass. Golly but that improves
appearances a lot.
A
few pictures taken at sunset. The softer light makes it very nice
Sunset
picture of Bobby looking at the Dogwood tree taken with the self-timer.
Queen was running the plow upstairs
in expectation of company this week
end. The Elliston’s from Delaware are expected. I am told Andy has a
potential cure for my chronic problems getting my web page on line. I
hope so. I can use a simpler system.
Wednesday,
May 05, 20047:17 AM 39 deg
at LVIA and 39.9 in the bus stop
It is a
beautiful day this morning. I well be heading out with my coffee and
Butternut in a moment. The blood glucose was an unbelievable 117 this
morning and the weight 204. The salmon patties couldn’t account for
that kind of a reading.
I still haven’t
resolved my problem with the dish antenna. As one can see the new
growth of the maple tree presents problems. That coupled with the
problem that the system in general is still not working.
I still love this tree in the summer for its magnificent
canopy.
Butternut and I were out perusing the
property this morning and were
sitting on the lower park bench just beneath the satellite dish.
Just in case anyone gets this new
W32.Sasser.B Worm. Here is a place to
go to remove it. http://www.symantec.com
I
am told a good firewall should protect you. My router with a built in
mechanical firewall, as well as my regular Kerio personal firewall
should be OK for all our computers. Always be vigilant. Also, be sure
to keep your anti-virus up to date.
It was starting to rain as I returned
from the “Ironworks” and
returned. Queen was busy cleaning the downstairs. I sort of,
volunteered to clean up the room that among other things has my
computer equipment and all its associated equipment. I had to clean off
the couch, which is next to my computer workstation. It has become a
handy place to store excess usually used work [read junk], however
since it is not all junk it must all be gone over and examined. Since
it is often needed when we have guests, it really needed a going over.
Now you can actually see the cushions on it and sit there. Golly!! When
that was done, I finished vacuuming the rugs here and in the kitchen.
At this time of the year, we are plagued with
masses of
pine needles that seem to be falling like rain. They are tracked all
over the house. Geez! I sure don’t make a very good housewife. Believe
me, wives, and homemakers are grossly underpaid. I must surely try her
patience almost beyond belief. Somehow, she still puts up with me.
<Thank God>
Thursday,
May 06, 2004 7:17 AM 43 deg
at LVIA and 40.4 in the bus stop
Well, it looks
as though the scales are broken again. This morning I weighed 198lbs.
If true, it is good news. The blood glucose was 144. I will be heading
out with my dog and coffee as soon as it is ready.
<7:35 AM>I
am back inside. Butternut and I perused the property. He took great
exception to Nan Campton and her dog walking in the alley, however he
didn’t bark when Marline and Lee Bollinger walked down on the other
side of the street. Sometimes that sets him off also. After we got
inside, I sent him upstairs looking for Mom. I love to hear her cries
of joy when he finds her. Then Butternut and I sat on the landing for a
moment while he washed my face and neck. I came back down to the
computer while he waits for his turn with her on the landing. He is the
most lovable dog.
I
saw this on the Internet and it is taken verbatim from the
Cincinnati Inquirer at this web site.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/05/06/loc_moment06.html
During his visit to the Golden
Lamb Inn in Lebanon, President Bush
stops to hug Ashley Faulkner, who lost her mom in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Photo by Lynn Faulkner
Bush
pauses to comfort teen
'This
girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11'
By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In a moment largely unnoticed by
the throngs of people in Lebanon
waiting for autographs from the president of the United States, George
W. Bush stopped to hold a teenager's head close to his heart.
Lynn Faulkner, his daughter,
Ashley, and their neighbor, Linda Prince,
eagerly waited to shake the president's hand Tuesday at the Golden Lamb
Inn. He worked the line at a steady campaign pace, smiling, nodding and
signing autographs until Prince spoke:
"This girl lost her mom in the
World Trade Center on 9-11."
Bush stopped and turned back.
"He changed from being the
leader of the free world to being a father,
a husband and a man," Faulkner said. "He looked right at her and said,
'How are you doing?' He reached out with his hand and pulled her into
his chest."
Faulkner snapped one frame with
his camera.
"I could hear her say, 'I'm OK,'
" he said. "That's more emotion than
she has shown in 21/2 years. Then he said, 'I can see you have a father
who loves you very much.' "
"And I said, 'I do, Mr.
President, but I miss her mother every day.' It
was a special moment."
Special for Lynn Faulkner
because the Golden Lamb was the place he and
his wife, Wendy Faulkner, celebrated their anniversary every year until
she died in the south tower of the World Trade Center, where she had
traveled for business.
The day was also special for
Ashley, a 15-year-old Mason High School
student, because the visit was reminiscent of a trip she took four
years ago with her mother and Prince. They spent all afternoon in the
rain waiting to see Bush on the campaign trail. Ashley remembers
holding her mother's hand, eating Triscuits she packed and bringing
along a book in case she got bored.
But this time was different. She
understood what the president was
saying, and she got close enough to see him face to face.
"The way he was holding me, with
my head against his chest, it felt
like he was trying to protect me," Ashley said. "I thought, 'Here is
the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm
safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is pretty
unusual for me."
The photo has been circulating
across the country, Faulkner said.
Relatives have passed it on to friends, bosses and acquaintances. As
they tell the story, they also share in Wendy Faulkner's legacy, which
her family continues through the Wendy Faulkner Memorial Children's
Foundation.
"I'm a pretty cynical and jaded
guy at this point in my life," Faulkner
said of the moment with the president. "But this was the real deal. I
was really impressed. It was genuine and from the heart."
Sometimes I
really do despair for this country. The opposition hates this man so
much. I guess I never will understand their hatred. Political
opposition I can understand, but the outright hatred is simply beyond
the pall. That said, I never watch Dan Rather, but I doubt if he had
this story on the CBS news.
Speaking of much
more pleasant things, this afternoon Jim Burnhauser was out in the
churchyard cutting the grass.
It
certainly does improve appearances
I
would hate for him to know this, but he is a good man.
Tonight I made
supper and we had a filet of steelhead trout that we got at Giant
today, fresh green beans, and a rice dish. I opened a can of chicken
broth and cooked the rice in it along with mushrooms, a touch of
Vidalia onion, and some green pepper. Then I cooked the beans in the
remaining broth. Some grape tomatoes with low fat cottage cheese were
the rest of the menu. Coffee and a shared ice cream bar was the meal.
Queen was
planting some of the plants we got earlier today. I planted a 6 pack of
yellow pansies we got at Country Harvest this morning.
Friday,
May 07, 2004 7:36 AM 55
deg at LVIA and 57.3 in the bus
stop
This morning the blood glucose was
130 and the weight was 201.We plan
to go for a walk soon. We have a lot we want do today.
We are back from our walk. I took the
camera along. Honestly there is
so much beauty around us, if we but look. Here are a few pictures I
took this morning.
Dr.
Leshock’s house with the dogwood in bloom
These
are the cherry trees at the hospital now developing leaves.
I got get
the car out and went downtown to consult Prolog about web space; It is
as I was previously told. No extra is available above 15 MB(megabytes)
and still
be free. It would be $1 a MB above that. That just might be an option.
We shall see. Of course, if I had 200 MB, it still wouldn’t be enough
knowing me. <Sigh>
I re-potted the
tomato plants that Jim gave us. Then got Queen’s new front porch chair
out of storage, She has the front porch looking very good now. Summer
will be here soon.
We are expecting
the Delaware Ellistons this evening for dinner. Queen baked a cake and
we will be having Mac and cheese, breaded fish filets, and stewed
tomatoes. It doesn’t get any better than this. The food here is damn
good.
Well this has been proofread and is
ready to place on line. As I always
write as my finale, In these perilous times especially, Please at
least,try to love one another.
May God bless us all. love 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. Bob
“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 - Affection speech, 1907
