You Found WHAT? !!!!!

  Some people can't see the forest because of
all the trees!
  That thought came to my mind as I nearly
crashed my car near our mailbox the other
day. It's hard to maintain control when you're
laughing so hard there are tears in your eyes!
   It was a hand made sign that caused all
the hilarity!
   Someone, I'm sure someone with a good
heart, had posted a sign indicating that they
had "Found" a "Grey Cat."
    "Finding" a cat in our development is like
finding an orange in a Florida Orange Grove!
     A few folks around the place have
decided it's a good idea to leave food out for
cats. But that's the full extent of the care
they offer. They don't clean up after the
animals let alone spay or neuter the felines!
     The result, of course, has been a cat
population explosion!
      Either that or the entire cast of the
musical "Cats"  has decided to make this their
retirement home! There has been a lot of
"singing" around here at night lately!
      Another neighbor who works with
animals claims to have trapped more than a
dozen cats in just a couple of weeks.
     I've yet to notice a decline in their ranks.
     Perhaps if the good hearted individuals
who "found" the grey cat would think about
adopting it .....and then coming back to find
its brothers, sisters, cousins and such... so
these furry families could be reunited!
Somewhere else of course!
     We might even be able to maintain our lawns
without having to watch where we step!
      Hope the "Grey's" owner .....owns up,
and that all your NEWS is good!
    

 
 

The Other D Day!

   June 6th will forever be remembered as
D Day, the day the Allied Forces stormed
the beaches to retake France. It should be
remembered!. It was the beginning of the
end of World War II.
    But June 6th also marks another
historic anniversary. Another "D Day!"
     It was the day, back in 1933, that the
first Drive In Movie Theater opened! And
it happened in Camden, New Jersey at the
"Park In Theater."
     Most of us, at one time or another, spent
some time at the Drive In. Many may have
even watched the movie!
     I practically lived in Drive Ins during ,many
of my youthful years!
     My Dad was the first projectionist at the
Hazleton Drive In, the first to open in lower
Luzerne County.
     He later worked at the Laurel, also in
the Hazleton area, and the Motor View in
Nescopeck, near Berwick.
     He also filled in for operators at the
Valley Drive In at Hometown and the
Brandonville Drive in at....yep...Brandonville.
      There were, of course, others in our area.
       I spent time at those too, once I got my
own car to get there!
       It's kind of sad to see so many of them
gone now. Most, of course, fell victim to
the rising value of their real estate.
       A Car Dealership now stands where
the Maple Drive In used to operate at
Honesdale.
       There's a small manufacturing operation
where the Valley Drive In once welcomed
movie goers and swimmers at its community
pool.
       And Township officials now handle their
governmental duties where I used to watch
the stars on the screen at the Motor View.
       In the 1950's and 60's there were some
5,000 Drive In theaters across the country!
       Today there are fewer than 500!
       Fortunately for those of us in northeastern
Pennsylvania a few of those surviving Drive
In's are in our region!
        You can still see two movies for the
price of one (for those who go to watch the
movie) and probably see a pretty good menu
in their concession stands!
        No more speakers to prop up on your
window anymore. These days you use your
car radio to get the sound. And that way you
can choose your own music to play till you
feel it's dark enough to start the show and start
blowing your horn! (Some things never change
including the kids, and others, who feel
obligated to wave their hands as they walk in
front of the projection booth.)
         The biggest change, however, other than
the price is the modern trend of parking
vehicles with their tail end facing the screen.
         If we did that "back in the day, we'd
have to watch the feature in or rear view
mirror!
        Today customer open the hatch in their
van and either sit there or on folding chairs
they haul along with them!
        The operators like them too They don't
have to wonder how many friends you're
trying to sneak in inside your trunk!
         So, since it's a Friday you may want to
remember one D Day and celebrate the other!
         Both should bring back memories!
         Hope you invade your local Drive
In and that all your NEWS is good!

         

Shuffle Off To Buffalo!

    "Off we're going to Shuffle,
Shuffle off to Buffalo."
   (From the film 42nd Street)
     I shuffled off to Buffalo
yesterday. More specifically,
I shuffled off to the "Water
Buffalo" that was set out in
our development in the wake
of our water outage.
      I've done many a story on
these trailer born water tanks
that are brought to areas where
people need water for drinking,
cooking, or whatever.
      It was great to have one at
my disposal after some 35 hours
without water.
      It was also a pleasure to see
workers and equipment set up
near the spot where a suspected
water leak and the broken valve
thought to have caused our
problems was located.
       The situation afforded my
wife the opportunity to see a
brand new business in our
local strip mall.
       It's a Laundromat. And
even though it's just across
the street.... it had water. So, the
laundry she volunteered to do
for my daughter two days ago
finally got done! Such good
fortune!
      After a brief trip out of town
we returned to find the most pleasant
sight! It was water coming from our
spigot!!!
      Our personal drought had ended!
      Then, of course, the rain came!
      Hoping for a very long shower
today and that all your NEWS is
good!

All Day I Face the Baron Waste.....

   "All day I face the baron waste
without a drop of water! Cool, clear,
water!"
    It's been over 24 hours since the
folks in my development found our
spigots empty.
    Getting action has been a lot like
trying to get a bill through Congress!
     Our "on site contact" never
returned telephone messages.
     The absentee owner provided
another number for a gentleman
who, once reached, claimed no
knowledge of the underground water
system.
      Another man, apparently
representing ownership, stopped by
late yesterday to ask if our water was
back on and if people on the other
side of our park had water. I could
only answer for me and suggest he
might consider asking people on the
other side himself.
     Another email today advised me
that workers were on the scene. If that's
the case they must have been having
lunch because no one was actually
working to either get the system running
again or to provide emergency supplies.
     A Township Commissioner took it
upon himself to check the situation.
After his visit some actual equipment
showed up.
   Unfortunately it can't be used, we're
told, until the crew gets clearance to
dig where they've got to dig to replace
an antique valve.
   Meanwhile, dishes wait to be cleaned,
laundry waits to be washed, and the
bathroom......well...let's not get into
that.
    I casually mentioned to my wife that
I was willing to take her up to a stream
about a mile above the house if she
wanted to rush the laundry. I seemed
to detect a scowl at that suggestion!
    Hey, it worked for the Indians back
in the old west!
    Anyhow it appears we'll face another
night humming that old tune about
tracking through the desert..."without
a drop of water."
     Hope our fish don't mind we're
using our bottled supply that's suppose
to clean their tank for other purposes
and....that all your NEWS is good!

    

The End?

   Maybe I had missed the latest prediction!
   Or maybe "the End" was coming without
a prediction! But the signs were there!
    The first sign of trouble was at a very
busy intersection just a mile away from my
home.
     The traffic lights were out! Not flashing!
Totally Out!
      After dodging a few vehicles that didn't
seem to care if there was red, amber, green,
or any lights I managed to make it through
and get to my house where I unloaded a
load of laundry that my wife volunteered
to handle for my daughter who is in the
process of moving.
     No problem.....UNTIL......we learned
we had no water!
     I immediately drafted an email to the
owner of our development to alert him to
the problem. I would have sent it immediately
too. But Yahoo informed me there were
some technically difficulties with its email
system and suggested I try again later.
    No problem. I figured I'd just call a
maintenance man who works around the
place. Except my Cell phone wouldn't
put the call through! The screen showed
some sort of strange message I had never
seen before.
    I decided to try our Police non-emergency
number on our "land line" telephone.
    That phone, thankfully, worked. And I
immediately got through to an answering
machine or voice mail or whatever that
allowed me to leave a message that will
probably be checked sometime in the next 24
hours or so.
      I quickly had something to eat. No need
to worry about washing the dishes. I figured
if this was "the End" at least I wouldn't
"go" hungry!
     Just about that time Yahoo came back
and my cell phone's light came on. Next
a gentleman in a work truck stopped by to
ask if my water was back on. It wasn't.
But it was nice to know somebody was aware
if not working on the problem.
      I eventually learned they found a leak!
      Of course they weren't about to work
on fixing it last night!
      Maybe the world wasn't coming to an
End....at least not just yet.
      Hope that laundry gets done and that
all your NEWS is good!

Whoop-ee-ti-yi-o

   Woody Guthrie wrote the song.
   His lyrics proclaimed......
"Whoop-ee-ti-yi-o, get along little
Doggies. It's your misfortune and
none of my own. Whoop-ee-ti-yi-o,
get along little Doggies, You know
that Wyoming will be your new
home."
    For the second time in as many
months one of my "little doggies"
is moving to Wyoming.
    My son and his family are there.
    My daughter and family are in
the process of moving in.
    In both their cases, the move
brings them to Wyoming Borough,
not the state that bears the same name.
    However, after bearing witness to
their moving efforts I have come to
believe it would be far easier to move
a herd of cattle across a state then to
move a household of belongings
across town!
     Both siblings employed the use
of a UHaul Rental Van for the bulk
of their possessions.
     The vans are huge. But park one
in front of a house and see how tiny
the van suddenly seems!
     My daughter, her husband, brother,
 and a couple very good friends, packed a
van to the brim then drove it to their
new "casa" to do the unloading.
     I, back at the house from which
they're moving, looked around and
realized the place still looked filled!
     I think they're going to need a
bigger boat.......I mean......van!
     Or, maybe, a few more friends
willing to lend a hand!
      The van goes back today so the
pressure is on!
       Hope these little doggies make
it to Wyoming, and that all their, and
your, NEWS is good!

MY OTHER WIFE!

    I spent a portion of Saturday with my other
wife!
    This admission may surprise a lot of you.
    But it's time you learned the truth!
    Before I go married my soon to be mother-
in-law had one concern she passed along to her
daughter. "Are you sure he hasn't been married
before" she asked?
     Well......the answer is No!
      My "other wife" didn't come along until two
years ago.
      Perhaps I should point out that the woman
I'm writing about PLAYS my wife in a movie
that's being made right here in our area!
      That should get a couple of you breathing
again!
       Chris Fetchko is a talented young man
who has put that talent, along with his heart
and soul, into a movie called "Trust Me."
       It's about 95% ready. But some additional
shooting will be done in Wilkes-Barre on June
18th and Chris needed me and Bev Ann, the
woman who plays my wife, for some still shots
that may find there way into one of the scenes
that helps develop the plot!
        It will probably be interesting to hear from
some of the people who don't read this blog, but
did see me being photographed with Bev Ann
in Pittston yesterday!
      Afterwards the three of us had a chance to
sit down and view a few of the scenes that have
already been edited for the movie.
      I'm especially looking forward to it after
the first part I played in a movie was taken over
by Henry Winkler. Yep. "The Fonze" stole my
"big part!
     Hopefully he doesn't know about "Trust Me."
     It's really looking good and I suspect both my
wives will love the film when it finally comes
out!
     Hope you will too and that all your NEWS
is good!