NEPA ~ Off Topic ~ Chatting Thread ( New ) (Reading, Scranton: amusement park, beachfront, horseback)

[mr.magoo]

Originally Posted by Gerania

Chilly today, hot tamale?

that..Miz Gerania...:-) .along with my meager offerings are commonly referred to as 'Dad' jokes..we used to cringe when he told them after a few 'Highballs' ..but now find them suprisingly humorous.

When we first moved to NJ, we encountered full blown humidity, something that was almost alien to us living in Nepa, with the exception of some 'Dog Days' of August that hit even the Mountains when the wind was right...

I remember a vagrant night or two while staying at my Grandmothers in the summer, and smelling the deep boiled egg odor emanating from the sulpher infused Mill Creek a few yards from porch.

But I digress,

Back to 'Dad' jokes in honor of my Dad..for Fathers Day.

when we moved to Jersey we encountered a new phenomena, ( for us). The Italian Male..well, there were a few that my parents knew that lived in Pittston,...that sold homemade jug wine to weddings..

again I digress..

These guys wore 'A' shirts in the summer, had their hair slicked back...pants pulled up around their chest..they were arrogant and handsome,with heavy gold crucifixes or Cornutos hanging from chains around their necks .. but were so caught up in their own little 4 block world ..not unlike the denizens of WB...

However, They were different from the people of WB..because of their arrogance and naïveté..they actually perceived that the sun rose and set over their 3-4 block area of Chambersburg ('The 'Burg') and they were the 'Chosen Few.'

My Father never grew tired of the stock answer he would receive when remarking,( only to make conversation)... 'Boy it's a hot one today.'

The usual response from a local would be...(and stated with perceived sageness and conviction) 'It's NOT the heat...it's the humidity..'

to which my Father would respond, under his breath... 'It's not the heat...it's the stupidity.'

[Gerania]

I say, well I say mr.gagoo, that's quite a recollection. Roll out those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer...

While my dad had quite a sense of humor, he never had a joke. No reason to fret about that, because there was always a neighbor or one of his friends who would steal my nose or tell me a bad joke. Sometimes the older siblings would pitch a few at me. Knock knock...

Yes, the humidity is more constant and intense down in the flat lands. Philly, Trenton, South Jersey - starts earlier and hangs around longer. It's close. Do you remember that expression? My grandmother and other older people said that when it was very humid. I used to wonder what was close. Close to what?

There were no Italian Males in my neighborhood. Well, I knew Lenny whose father owned the local pizzeria, but I never met his dad. I started to run into this in high school and much more later. Gold chains, pinky rings and home made wine. You had to place your order early for a Christmas jug or two. Same thing if you wanted the good kielbasa.

My husband's uncle (Sicilian) looked as though he should have been a member of the Rat Pack. Perpetual tan, jewelry, wore black all winter and pastels in the summer. He once told me that his father had been a bag man for the mafia. He didn't know what was going on at the time, but when he finally figured it out, he was very angry. You see, his father took him along when he made the cash drops - cash in a brown bag. His father was using him as a human shield.

But I digress...

I have very fond memories of growing up in Wilkes-Barre. We went to San Souci and sometimes Angela Park or Rocky Glen. We visited the state parks. We went to family swim at the CYC. All of the kids were involved in the Scouts. Dad was an assistant scout leader and mom volunteered with the PTA. VFW and Knights of Columbus holiday parties on all of the holidays. There was a very dark underbelly to all of that, but it was just a part of life.

[bloominscranton]

Reading about the Jersey shore cracked this LI girl up. First, it is a flippin beach...second as a New Yorker...never look the gift horse in the mouth, aka the tourist! Jersey I tell ya?!...btw pork roll = Taylor ham my mom loved that stuff, me yuck!

[mr.magoo]

wow, Gerania...Rocky Glen, when we heard that as kids, our ears perked up like 'Pal', my Uncles Hunting Hound...magic words...also Gus's Grove, Sans Souci, and the park at Tobyhanna, ...
pronounced Toe- Bee -Hannah...

I remember wetting myself on the 'rollycoaster' at age 9..peed myself right in a brand new pair of very stiff 'Dungarees' that my Babci had bought for me...had to walk around in them for the rest of the day in the hot sun..
this was in Mid July..on my birthday...
I am Still not very good at Amusement Parks.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by mr.magoo

wow, Gerania...Rocky Glen, when we heard that as kids, our ears perked up like 'Pal', my Uncles Hunting Hound...magic words...also Gus's Grove, Sans Souci, and the park at Tobyhanna, ...
pronounced Toe- Bee -Hannah...

I remember wetting myself on the 'rollycoaster' at age 9..peed myself right in a brand new pair of very stiff 'Dungarees' that my Babci had bought for me...had to walk around in them for the rest of the day in the hot sun..
this was in Mid July..on my birthday...
I am Still not very good at Amusement Parks.

Where was Gus's Grove? I've never heard of that one.

Sorry you had to walk around in pee pants at the amusement park on your birthday. It's just the sort of thing that happens. I remember being in the back seat of the family car wrapped in a towel. I don't remember the accident, but apparently I'd vomited or peed myself. Kids. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

[Gerania]

Some people have no sense of humor... zilch, zero, nada, nothing. I don't know. Maybe they grew up in a state starting with a vowel. The abrasion is starting to breach my armor.

[East Coast Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Gerania

Some people have no sense of humor... zilch, zero, nada, nothing. I don't know. Maybe they grew up in a state starting with a vowel. The abrasion is starting to breach my armor.

Who said or did what?

[Gerania]

One of of my posts was deleted. I thought I was being polite.

Maybe some people from the east cost see things a bit differently than people in the heartland. I don't know.

[mr.magoo]

I don't really remember where Gus's Grove, or Gussies Grove was...it was small with a Pavilion and either streamside or it had a swimming hole...

[East Coast Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Gerania

One of of my posts was deleted. I thought I was being polite.

Maybe some people from the east cost see things a bit differently than people in the heartland. I don't know.

I've had posts deleted because people on the West Coast (CA and AZ) don't seem or can't see things the way we do on the East Coast.