STORIES WORTH THE TELLING!

    MONDAY, APRIL 15TH., 2019
  STORIES WORTH THE TELLING!

   It was 107 years ago today that RMS
Titanic sank to the bottom of the
Atlantic ocean and we're still fascinated
by the stories about that disaster.
   I know because I became part of one
of them!
   In 1972, after interviewing a Titanic
survivor who lived in Wilkes-Barre I
learned, by chance or destiny, the
identity of a woman who had saved
that survivor's infant son the night of
the sinking!
    The two had never met but connected
with each other by phone and letter
after my story became public.
     That revelation set me on a journey
to learn more and more about Titanic,
especially concerning stories relating
to local families with ties to the ill
fated ship.
      Each year, usually, in April, I get
requests to share my files with schools
or civic groups and, when I can, I'm
happy to do so.
       The last Titanic survivor, Millvina
Dean, died in 2009. Since she was only
two months old when the ship sank, even
her memories were those inherited from
her mother.
       Movies, and there have been many,
recount the stories and legends of the
tragedy. But individual stories are now
told by the survivors of the survivors.
       Titanic still generates new stories
too. It's only within the last ten years,
for instance, we've learned that Robert
Ballard's search for the ship was really
the result of a top secret Navy exploration
for two sunken submarines! The discovery
of the Titanic wreckage was an extra
added attraction!
         Hope the stories keep coming and
that all your NEWS is good.

OUR MAGIC SON!

  SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH., 2019
         OUR MAGIC SON!  

     Facing 70 degree temperatures my
wife and I both had thoughts of putting
the top down in our Miata and heading
for the open road.
     Unfortunately the new battery that
was installed exactly one year ago this
week was not providing power to the
starter. Besides, there were several
pieces of heavy lawn furniture that had
to be put into place before we had time
for an outing.
       That's where my son came in. A
quick inspection by him reveled my
car problem was a broker negative
terminal. So he installed a new one,
used his portable charger to give the
long resting battery some fresh energy
and, Presto! The Miata was back
among the living.
        For his next trick he lifted the
bird bath, picnic table, and bench
(one at a time of course) onto the spots
his Mom had selected and, Presto!
The yard work was complete!
         Our son was always into magic
and he continues to practice it without
a wand or top hat!
          On this day his magic allowed
us to enjoy a nice yard, a drive, a short
walk, and some ice cream as well!
           Hope you've got a "magician"
you can count on so that all your
NEWS is good!

BREAKING GROUND, AND HEARTS!

        SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH., 2019
   BREAKING GROUND, AND HEARTS!

    Regular readers are well aware I steer clear
of politics in my public posts and this blog.
    That said, the groundbreaking for a new
Wilkes-Barre Area High School has me
doing a lot of thinking about the all the
schools we used to have that are now just
memories. Mostly good ones that we're
sad to see go!
     I grew up in Hazleton where, during my
years in the classroom "neighborhood schools"
were the rule.
     My elementary school was two blocks from
my house. My junior high  school was three
blocks away. My walk to High School was
my longest hike at about one mile.
      I never rode a school bus until my TV news
days when I boarded one to do a story about
drivers who ignore their flashing warning lights.
      I will admit my junior high school was in
bad shape as far back as when I was a student
there. It was raised years ago and a new building,
not a school  stands on the site.
      My elementary school building was converted,
not replaced, to an apartment complex.
      My high school was renovated into a secondary
school. It was replaced with a new high school
which had a leaky roof two years after it's
construction.
      Several apartment buildings in Wilkes-Barre
were once schools and one is now a beautiful
office building which retains the look the
structure had as a school.
       I'm no engineer so I can't testify as to the
structural integrity of the Wilkes-Barre schools
being closed. I do know they look pretty sturdy
to me as I drive by.
       I also know, as with the schools I attended,
a lot of family memories were made within
those walls. Classes, plays, sporting events,
concerts, and graduations brought more
than just the students to those buildings.
       Hope maintenance of the new
high school will be a top priority and that
all your NEWS is good.

HOMEWORK!

  FRIDAY, APRI 12TH., 2019
             HOMEWORK!

   I was never a bid advocate of
homework. I always believed
school work should be avoided, I
mean, done in school.
   In fact I probably did more
homework in school than at home.
You know, in that homeroom
period before classes got started.
   That's all history and yet, today,
my homework is due!
    Well it's not actually mine but
I have an interest in this assignment!
     One of my teenage daughters and
a few of her friends were challenged
to do a video project for school.
      I, because I own a camcorder,
was enlisted as a technical advisor
on their project. That, translated,
means I lent them my camera and
agreed to put their finished
production on a dvd.
       They did a really great job!
They came up with a story concept,
parts for each student to act out,
casted extras for the various scenes,
and recorded their soundtrack.
        I set up my equipment for
putting their work on a dvd then
suddenly found out it wasn't
working as it was suppose to.
        I brought their student
narrator back to re-record her
sound track then watched, after
she had left, as my camcorder
jammed and refused to play or
give up their tape!
         After my granddaughter
volunteered to redo their audio
track I was able to work around
my technical problems to get
their project where it was
suppose to be. On a dvd.
         Their project is due to
be submitted today!
         Hope they (and I) get a
passing grade and that all your
NEWS is good!

WEIGHT LIFTING!

   THURSDAY, APRIL 11TH., 2019
             WEIGHT LIFTING!

  Let's be honest about it folks, I'm not
big into exercise anymore. Of course that's
partly why I'm big.
  My wife and I enjoyed walks in parks
and along the levee system. But that was
up until about November of last year
when the cold made it uncomfortable
to be out in the elements.
   We both have one of those Silver
Sneakers at the Pittston YMCA. At
least I think we do. Unless it has to be
renewed every year. It's been more than a
year since I was there last.
    My three-year-old grandson has been
giving me a workout each week and
lifting him her or there as become a
real exercise/ He's not built like a set
of weights and when I carry him in
while he's sleeping I probably equal a
good half hour workout at any gym.
    Little did I know this "training"
would come in handy.
    On Wednesday my wife decided she
need some mulch for the garden and the
type she prefers was selling at a very
good price at our nearby big box store.
    I should have know what was happening
when she suggested I pull our SUV as close
to the stacked bags of mulch as I could.
     She's go into pay while I loaded mulch
in the vehicle. But she wanted 8 bags of
the stuff!
      Mulch is meant to be spread, not
lifted and carried! Good thing I had
carried by grandson off to a nap the other
day. It was like tossing 8 of him in the
car!
      Well, that should do it for a month
of exercise or so. Although my grandson
will be visiting (and napping) sometime
today.
      Maybe I'll just let him sleep in the
car!
      Hope we both get a nice nap and that
all your NEWS is good!

PEOPLE PLEASE!

   WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10TH., 2019
               PEOPLE PLEASE!

   My blog on the self service check out
at Walmart got a lot of reaction. In case
you missed it one whole block of scanners
was closed because the store ran out of
bags!
    But most of my comments had nothing
to do with the store's failure to keep up
with inventory.
     The bulk of those responding made
it clear they don't like the whole concept
of taking somebody's job by handling
the scanning and bagging themselves.
      Retailers using such systems have
claimed they don't cost jobs and other
than seeing fewer people manning the
regular check out lines I'm not in a
position to challenge the figures.
       I will say this. I recently had
occasion to use the Pennsylvania
Turnpike and take an exit I had
never used to a health care facility
I had never visited.
       The Turnpike, of course, is
evolving to a system that will, it
seems, eventually do away with
toll taking agents. On my trip,
however, there was an attendant
at the toll plaza.
        We not only gave me great
directions to my destination, he
also took a moment to wish us well
regarding our appointment.
         E-ZPass may be faster but
it doesn't offer that kind of
service!
         Hope folks like that are
around for a long time....and that
all your NEWS is good!
     

 

IT'S IN THE BAG! (OR IS IT?)

      TUESDAY, APRIL 9TH., 2019
      IT'S IN THE BAG! (OR IS IT?)

     I stopped at Walmart Monday to
pick up a couple small things we
needed at the house. Counting the
can of Span I just couldn't pass I
had 5 items.
      There was a time when the giant
box store had a separate check out
lane for those with 15 items or less.
Of course a few customers rounded
that number off to about 30 but it
was still a fairly fast check out.
       Some time back those "express
lanes" were replaced with self check
out scanners. If you don't mind
scanning your own items and feeding
your cash or credit card into a machine,
and bagging what you bought, this lane
is for you.
       Generally I like to go through the
lanes with live cashiers. I've come to
know a few of them, at least by face,
and enjoy our exchange of a few "how's
the weather" type comments.
       With just 5 items, however, I
figured self check out might be my
best bet. Until I saw the lines!
        For a second I thought the store
was handing out money. There had to
be 20 people waiting to use the scanners.
      I headed to the store's other self
check out counters but found them
closed and roped off! Had these fairly
new machines broken down already?
       Nope. The second self service
counters were closed because the
store had run out of bags in that
section!
        I wish they would have let me
know. I have a substantial collection
of Walmart bags I keep at home to
use in our trash cans. I would have
brought some in if just to speed up
my check out!
        I still did my part and put all
my 5 items into a single bag!
       Hope they restock soon and
that all your NEWS is good!