Now that your unpacked and got to test drive the area for a bit, encountered some locals and yokels, and hopefully some actual people that moved to the area from your home town or state its time to list the likes you have of your new or semi-new, or heck if the area is your native home than by all means and ways list what you like! Y'all got it? Well here goes!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you!
Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you! Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
A Day in the Life of a 1960s kid and 1970s Teen
Posted 04-22-2020 at 11:41 AM by dansdrive
Wednesday April 22, 2020 and its a sunny picture perfect day in Eastern North Carolina with a current temp of 64 degree. Sweet!
Now as the title implies I managed to grow up in two of the most exciting times in our countries history. Albeit me being biased to that fact!
Anyway wanted to share my many experiences growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Where coal was flaming out sort of speak and Rail yards were a mere bump in the road of progress.
But enough about industries of the past and more to how I did way back then.....so her goes.
I grew up in a small town well maybe not as small as other towns around us but compared to Philly and NYC is was a virtual city blocks to those cities. Our town and the section we lived in was very ethic in nature. One would say we lived in the poor side of town and I would shout back we lived in a real American town. We had almost every European Country represented. My heritage was Italian and Polish. Hard work and good eats, how can one go wrong with that. I had siblings and two great parents and a whole host of relatives that lived mostly in walking distance. Being Mom never drove a car. Let me repeat that. Mom never drove a car her entire life and Dad worked allot we learned to have fun no matter were we were.
I had many friends that lived within two city blocks, knew them, knew their parents, know their brothers and sisters and in some case extended family members. That is just the way it was. We had large gardens and fruit trees, in fact my grand parents who lived down the street had a yard that was the garden. Literally! My Grandfather retired in the mid 1960's and use to come and get me for walks. I never seen my Grandfather or Grandmother drive. They were direst from Italy and other then a stop in NJ for spell they settled in our town which offered jobs and a future. My grandfather did everything himself, gardening, wood working, Carpenter was his trade, made wine, made bread, made his own cigarettes in his Lorado machine. It was jut the coolest thing to watch as a kid and of coarse it never competed with the candy dish my Grandmother always had out. M&M's, Hershey kisses, and Reece's was her choice and come to think of it ours too!
Every Sunday after Church all would descend on my grandparents house for a pasta dish. Every Sunday as a kid and later as a teen when my grandparents passed on we had a pasta dish. Monday never came to start the week if Dad did not have Pasta on Sunday. My best friend growing up was Polish and Lebanese. His Sunday dinner always meant Lebanese dished like Kibby.
I will leave it here while our thoughts are on food and out hearts are on yesterday's memories and wish everyone a happy and safe Wednesday and Stay Safe out there.
To be continued.....
Now as the title implies I managed to grow up in two of the most exciting times in our countries history. Albeit me being biased to that fact!
Anyway wanted to share my many experiences growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Where coal was flaming out sort of speak and Rail yards were a mere bump in the road of progress.
But enough about industries of the past and more to how I did way back then.....so her goes.
I grew up in a small town well maybe not as small as other towns around us but compared to Philly and NYC is was a virtual city blocks to those cities. Our town and the section we lived in was very ethic in nature. One would say we lived in the poor side of town and I would shout back we lived in a real American town. We had almost every European Country represented. My heritage was Italian and Polish. Hard work and good eats, how can one go wrong with that. I had siblings and two great parents and a whole host of relatives that lived mostly in walking distance. Being Mom never drove a car. Let me repeat that. Mom never drove a car her entire life and Dad worked allot we learned to have fun no matter were we were.
I had many friends that lived within two city blocks, knew them, knew their parents, know their brothers and sisters and in some case extended family members. That is just the way it was. We had large gardens and fruit trees, in fact my grand parents who lived down the street had a yard that was the garden. Literally! My Grandfather retired in the mid 1960's and use to come and get me for walks. I never seen my Grandfather or Grandmother drive. They were direst from Italy and other then a stop in NJ for spell they settled in our town which offered jobs and a future. My grandfather did everything himself, gardening, wood working, Carpenter was his trade, made wine, made bread, made his own cigarettes in his Lorado machine. It was jut the coolest thing to watch as a kid and of coarse it never competed with the candy dish my Grandmother always had out. M&M's, Hershey kisses, and Reece's was her choice and come to think of it ours too!
Every Sunday after Church all would descend on my grandparents house for a pasta dish. Every Sunday as a kid and later as a teen when my grandparents passed on we had a pasta dish. Monday never came to start the week if Dad did not have Pasta on Sunday. My best friend growing up was Polish and Lebanese. His Sunday dinner always meant Lebanese dished like Kibby.
I will leave it here while our thoughts are on food and out hearts are on yesterday's memories and wish everyone a happy and safe Wednesday and Stay Safe out there.
To be continued.....
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Thursday April 23, 2020 and its a rainy overcast 58 degrees outside heading on up to 71....we will see. Liquid sunshine seems to keep things on the cooler side.
Speaking of cool that is what it was to grow up in the 1960's. Second half of the decade is easier to remember then the first half. But I do have memories of the first half. I remember when JFK was assassinated. I don't remember any of the details or who he even was but I do remember Mom sitting and crying and crying. I remember the funeral on TV we watched and that's about it. That really seemed to start the turbulent times our country went through for the rest of that decade. I don't remember allot about the Vietnam War but I had order siblings that lost some of their close friends in Vietnam.
I remember the first day of Kindergarten class. Never took a bus to school. All 12 years were walking. to and from school. Schools were in our neighborhood. That is how it was. I can remember our Mom's leaving and some of my friends crying when their Mom' left. I didn't. I am sure its not because I did not miss her, she said she would be back to pick me up and that is all I needed to know. I had some older siblings in the school so I knew if they went to this school it would be alright.
Little did I know that almost all those kids I started Kindergarten with I would eventually Graduate High School with. Talk about knowing your friends!.
Our track to school everyday had us go uphill almost the entire way so we could fly home.....all down hill! Sweet.
We took many steps next to a park we use to play in many many many stories about that old abandoned park to share.....
For now I have to just say....To be continued. Be Safe, Be Kind, and most importantly Be yourself.Posted 04-23-2020 at 10:31 AM by dansdrive
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Monday April 27, 2020 and its a sunny 70 something day out there. These were the days you wore a jacket to school and on your way home you left it in the coat room or you tied it around your waste and ran all the way home. The only thing stopping us from being outside playing was the time to get home and changed!
It as literally in the side door of our house head upstairs change and fly down the stairs and out the back door into the shed and onto our bikes! We would head to the street corner in front of my cousin house a 1/2 block up from ours. Food was always an after thought as a kid. never seemed hungry. Now as an adult food is all one thinks about! Funny how that works. This time of the year we would grab out mitts and bats as well and play endless games of Sandlot baseball.
So many fun moments to remember in those games. Was usually constant changes to the lineup each day on kids that would come and go. Had two brothers that were gret baseball fans. Big METS fans but they could not be in the same team and they would argue and fight every strike called every our made on the base pads. I don't know what ever happened to those two brothers but everyone in their life time must meet someone like these two to really understand competition and rivalry. I am snickering now as I think of the drag down fight em out arguments those two use to get into. It could over where the clouds were situated in the blue sky above!
Wishing all a safe and healthy day and take a moment today to reflect back to your childhood and remember the moments that made you smile! Its well worth the trip! Especially since one never falls taking it!
Posted 04-27-2020 at 10:43 AM by dansdrive
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Friday May 15, 2015 and its a sunny and warm 80 degrees outside! How great that is. May growing up in Northeastern PA was always great. Thee were days were we wore coats to school and then wrapped around our waste running home or forgetting them in school! Yikes! Mom would always say wheres your coat? That was always the instant we remembered where it was.......after school it was short sleeves but no shorts yet. We would head to our favorite part or at least at one time it was a park now it was just stone steps and over grown trees and grasses.
Let me tell you a kid can have a blast in that type of area. We played Army, Cowboys and Indians, and hide an seek. It was on the side of a hill and many many steps on each side and in the middle. It was awesome! more to come on this great place!
Have a great weekend and enjoy each day like it may never come again......wait once today is gone it will never come back again!Posted 05-15-2020 at 03:06 PM by dansdrive
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Monday 04/26/21 and its a sunny day picture perfect 70 degrees topping out at 73! Sweet! Reminds of the Soda can caper why back in the day.....
It was a Easter Sunday and our families got together at our Grandparents home for Pasta on Sunday's. My Grandmother would spend the morning making home made Spaghetti. Put it on the kitchen table to dry before boiling it. Sunday tradition growing up. Us kids use to play outside after Dinner. Our Grandmother would give us a whole can of soda which was really cool back in the day! Almost all soda was bottled until they came out with cans of Soda. Corner store use to sell Shasta for Nickel a can! Lemon-Lime, Cola, and other flavors.
We would get the empties which at that time had pull tabs. Unless you were from that era you don't remember pull tabs! We would stomp in the empties and get them caught between our shoes and when we ran they would clink and clang and we would make a heck of a racket.
My Grandparents house was close to their neighbors and had a slate sidewalk so when we would run up and down the sidewalk with those cans on our feet it would be really loud. We would run up and down the sidewalk until the cans would wear off our shoes. Which brings me to the Soda can caper or sorts.....
My cousin would try anything and do just about anything. Well he was running with those cans on his shoes and really kicking up the backs of his feet until they touched his butt. What he did not realize was the cans were sharp where they bent and formed around our shoes. He did not realize the cans were cutting the inside of his upper thighs!! Until one of us notices his pants were ripped and bloody! Yikes!
In those days finding a Doctor or Hospital open was no easy task. But my Aunt and Uncle found one and he got stitched up on both legs and that was the end of us using cans to make noise! Well all got lectured after that.............In English and Italian no less!
That was the Soda Can caper or sorts......Happy Monday!Posted 04-26-2021 at 10:41 AM by dansdrive
