The 70's

 Back in 1970 when I was only 14 years old, I never gave much thought to when, or if, I’d ever be 70. The 70’s were exciting times for me. I learned to drive; I graduated high school and got a job. I became old enough to vote and then, old enough to drink. I also lost my father, had bones broken, lost the tip of one of my fingers and found out I was a diabetic. It was a learning experience. I discovered it could sometimes be tough, but for the most part life was good and rewarding!

    During this decade I started exploring the world around me. I saw the beauty hidden in the mountains; I found the serenity of the deep woods. I discovered the peace obtainable while sitting beside a small stream. I found out how relaxing it can be to watch the moon or sun rise over a field or a hillside.

    Of course, it was more than just these things. Being on my own more, without the childhood parental constraints, I learned the importance of work, time and trust. Some experimenting with alcohol and various substances "may have" occurred. It was a decade of motorcycles, cave and cliff exploring, and camping. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the future. 

    As the years piled on and the 70’s passed, I experienced the joys and the losses that we all do. My life calmed down some and there were the joys of raising a family and learning to be a dad. (Can that even be taught?) Family members got married and the family numbers increased, but sadly, at the same time, decreased. Death is just another part of our lives. That is another thing we learn about in life, how quick it can end.

    Lord knows I’ve made more than my share of bad decisions and mistakes and God willing, I’ve learnt from them. I’ve been offered so many chances to learn, I’m afraid to think how many I’ve let pass by. It seems as if life is one long continuous learning process.

    The 1970’s are long gone but here, I find that I’m starting them over again. Moving into my own 70’s, I can’t help but realize things have changed; I seem to be experiencing a bit more pain than I did in the first set. I’m not quite as fast or strong as I was, perhaps that is because of the extra pounds hung on my frame. There is also a lot less hair on my head! Re-starting my second set of 70’s, I can only hope they will be as much fun as the first set was. I seriously doubt if they’ll be quite as wild but I’m still looking forward to them!

    To bring back a bit of the slang of the 70’s, I’m looking forward to a “groovy”, “far out” decade. “Look out baby, here I come”!

Headin' East

 Another trip across the state had been planned and so, of course, I started making lists long before our departure date. I always enjoy the preparations made before a trip. It is something I’ve learned to do over the years. Arriving at a campsite as the sun is setting and finding that I forgot the flashlight at home, or even worse, the food, makes me think twice before leaving home. The paper lists helps but still, I always manage to forget something!

    I enjoy making lists. Whether it is for a trip to the store or preparing to develop a roll of film, I grab a piece of paper and a pen. Trips; even if it is just a ride out into the countryside and back, I usually make a list. A trip that might involve 4 or 5 days definitely requires one! They aren’t just for things to take; they include sights to see, stores, restaurants or coffee shops to try and the times they open or close. Yah…it sounds a bit anal but it usually pays off.

    On this trip, we left on Friday morning. We were going across the state to visit my daughter’s family. We would be taking our “usual” route, crossing the state via rt.22. I have never been a fan of limited access highways, especially when you have to pay to use them. We also enjoy being able to leave the main roads and exploring when we want to.

    There was a hard rain the night before but luckily it had passed by and as we started out, the roads were almost dry. A couple stops were made for food and beverages and then soon, the foothills of the Laurel Highlands could be seen ahead of us.

    We had a variety of geocaches to try and find on the way. One of the first was at the Cassandra Railroad Overlook. This is an old bridge that used to carry a road across the tracks. Built in 1936 it was closed to traffic the same year. It is now used by railfans to watch trains coming up and down the long hill. Looking downhill, to the west, you can see the trains coming about 2 miles away! We found the cache but unfortunately, we didn’t see any trains. After waiting a few minutes, we returned to the car and our journey.

    Coming into Duncansville, we stopped at Connie’s Collectables and Quilts.  I did a quick once through and then left Ann Marie in fabric heaven while I walked down the street to take some pictures of an old gas station. The owner had just pulled up and I asked if he minded if I took some pictures. He invited me in and showed me around telling me about the history of the building. Originally a blacksmith shop it later became an auto garage. The current owner lived beside it as a child. Inside were a variety of cars, trucks and motorcycles, some in various states of disassembly along with all sorts of old memorabilia, such as hubcaps, oil and gas signs, old v-belts and even a belt pulley system that used to run the machinery. It was fun looking around!

    Down the road a bit further, we came into the town of Hollidaysburg. We stopped at Boro Coffee to refill our empty cups. This coffee shop is located in two 18^th century houses where canal workers lived. Looking at the ceilings we could see the hand-hewn beams holding the floors above. The windows looked out onto the railroad yards across the street, where the canal used to be. Hollidaysburg had a large canal basin here. Good coffee, sour-dough bagels and a view of moving trains made this another favorite spot!

    Not far away, across from the Blair County Courthouse, we visited the Next Chapter Bookstore. We talked with Dani, the owner as we browsed. Talking with the owners of book shops is usually an experience of sharing similar thoughts and ideas. We discussed books, the store, schools and book bannings among other things. From there we returned to rt. 22. We only stopped for a couple geocaches, anxious to see the grandkids. The next couple days were spent with the family. 

    On Saturday we watched as Jamie built and launched an Estes rocket and then later, Ann Marie and I spent some time at the Harleysville No Kings Protest. It was a great example of people peaceably getting together and voicing their opinions. That is what America is about! People were smiling and laughing and enjoying the day and the camaraderie. We both found the event touching and emotional.

   Later the family drove to Phoenixville where we strolled the main drag. We went down and visited the iron works, a beautiful building that is now an event center. We petted dogs and visited some of the stores including the Reads and Company Bookstore. The store was actually crowded; they were doing a good business on a Saturday night! It did my heart good to see an independent bookstore so busy! 

    We ate dinner across the street from the Colonial Theater where an iconic scene from the 1958 movie The Blob was filmed. This movie was Steve McQueen’s first lead role.

    Sunday morning we went to Skippack for breakfast and then visited the Pages and Parchment Bookstore. Mallory, the owner is one of Chelsey’s friends. Chelsey was there earlier in the week participating in their Silent Book Club. People bring whatever they are reading and sit, silently reading their books. It was a very nice shop and we ended up bringing home a nice selection of books from there.

    Later in the day we went to the Indian Valley Library where Mateo and Nico showed us around their library. As the boys rummaged through the shelves I explored their very nice Pennsylvania Room. The boys selected some books to take home. We were very impressed with their library.

    On Monday morning, after saying good-bye to the boys before they left for school, Ann Marie and I started back. We made a stop in Lenhartsville to get some kielbasa and scrapple at Dietrich’s Meats. We usually stop here on our return trips. Walking in the door you are greeted by the smell of smoke. They have a large selection of meats and cheeses along with other Pennsylvania Dutch treats.

    Just down the road we stopped at an old furnace. Someone had cleaned up the weeds and bushes around it and we were able to see the walls on the hillside behind it. I have no idea what the purpose of this structure was, when it was built or what it was named. I have seen pictures of it on-line but the people who posted them didn’t know anything about it either.

    We stopped for another refreshment break north of Harrisburg. While we were there I took some pictures of an abandoned “Gentleman’s Club”. Closed in 2019 the place was looking pretty sad. It was overgrown with weeds and trash. There were some really odd pictures painted near the entrance. I would think these pictures would scare people away rather than luring them in!

    Taking a chance, we stopped at a restaurant in Lewistown and had a good lunch. We enjoy trying out places that we’ve come across. Most of the time, we find spots worthy of putting on our “return to” lists. Sometimes we strike out, but that’s all part of the fun of the trip. Thankfully, the good places far outnumber the bad.

    West of Lewistown, in McVeytown, we stopped for our last, and our most interesting cache of the trip. It was one that neither of us had seen before. It was a plastic pipe attached to the back of a roadside sign. We looked it over, felt around but couldn’t figure out where the cache was. After giving it some thought, we realized that we needed to put water into the pipe and after we did that, the cache, attached to a fishing bobber, floated up to where we could grab it. Very tricky! It is caches like this that make the game so much fun!

    Other than a quick stop for gas, the rest of the trip was straight through. I got home just before 5 with 752 miles added to the odometer. It was another great trip through Pennsylvania. We enjoyed the time with the family and we had fun visiting all the various places, but as I’ve said before, it REALLY felt good to fall asleep in my own bed!

    P.S. Even though I made a list, I still forgot some shirts at home but luckily, I didn’t need them.

Books About Books

 The book is huge, over 700 pages and that makes it a difficult book to read in bed! There are times when it seems as if my bookmark hasn’t moved in days. Still, the story is good and I’ve fallen into its grasp. I have traveled through both time and space in this piece of fictional literature. I’ve gone to the far side of our globe and have seen both the beauty and the ugliness of the country where it takes place, a place that I’ll probably never visit.

    One of the many things in this book that pulled me into it is the love of books. While not a major part of the story, the importance of the written word plays a big part of this novel. Book appreciation is something I’ve always considered important and that has always drawn me towards certain books.

    I find that as I read different books I can’t help but notice the similarities between them and other books I’ve read. Things such as; certain themes, or locations, the use of an odd word appearing in two different books, sometimes one right after another, these things stick in my mind. I’ll notice how plots are similar or that the subject matter is often the same. Is it just random chance or is it my subconscious picking out the books I read without my knowing it? I often wonder about things such as this!

    So far this year, I have read at least 5 books that have had reading or books as an important part of their stories. Books about books have always intrigued me. I would guess that it is because of my love of the subject. Who doesn’t enjoy reading about or participating in favorite hobbies or activities we like?

    I don’t remember any books in my early reading history that involved this subject other than the Detective Brown series written by Donald J. Sobol. Written back in the 60’s, the main character was Encyclopedia Brown, a 10 year old boy. I was just about the same age when I started reading them. I could be like him! How much they incorporated books I’m not sure, but how could I not like a main character named “Encyclopedia”?

    As the number of books in my collection grew, books on this subject (books and writing) increased. I came across an old book called The Haunted Bookshop written by Christopher Morley. Printed originally in 1919, the bookshop is haunted by the ghosts of writers and the books that they reside in. The story is a mystery but I especially enjoyed the parts dealing with the store and its books.

    This book then led me to the author’s first book, Parnassus on Wheels, printed two years earlier. The story is about a bookshop set on a wagon pulled by a horse. A woman buys the shop and escapes her boring life with an adventure and a celebration of reading.

    Since then, I have added many other books about books to my collection. A definite favorite is the book 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. This non-fiction book, written in 1966, is a collection of letters written between the author and the employees of a book shop in London. It is to me a wonderful book dealing with caring, friendship and of course, the love of books.

    Another favorite is The Book Thief written in 2007 by Markus Zusak. This fictional novel is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. A young girl steals some books and learns from them, finding a haven from the war in the books she has stolen.

    The The Midnight Library was written by Matt Haig in 2020. In this book, a woman who had attempted suicide finds herself in a magical library. Each of the books in this library offers her an alternative life. With each life choice come both good things and bad. “We” don’t always get what we hoped for.

    This previous book reminded me of another one, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. Written in 2012 by Robin Sloan, this book tells the story of a young man who takes a job at a bookshop in San Francisco. He finds out it is a front for a secret society. Ancient books and manuscripts mixing with puzzles and secret codes that may possibly lead to the secret of eternal youth make this an exciting read. It takes us on an adventure that blends the ancient world with our modern civilization.

    My bookshelves are filled with books that mention books and reading in their pages. I am always on the lookout for another to add to my collection. Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn’t matter to me, I find them all exciting.

    So what exactly is it that I find so intriguing? They show me the behind the counter activities, how the book trade works. They tell stories about other book lovers, like me. People who can escape the everyday world by diving into another world printed on paper. I’ve read and learned about how books are made, how authors come up with their ideas and how companies decide which manuscripts to publish. I’ve read about how people, known as book scouts would search through bookstores and rummage sales for rare and collectable volumes. (Wouldn’t that be a fun job?) I’ve gone along with people who shared their love of books with others and gone into other dimensions and to other planets through the wonder and workings of books. 

    In case you’re wondering about the 5 books I was talking about earlier, the ones that caused these thoughts about books to begin, here is a quick once over about them…

1)    The Untold Story of Books by Michael Castleman. (2024) This is a history of publishing, from the Guttenberg Bibles and a bit before, to our modern digital age that we live in now.

2)    Camino Island by John Grisham. (2017) A fictional story about a writer who is enlisted to infiltrate a group of writers on an island off the coast of Florida. She is hoping to find some stolen manuscripts that a bookstore owner might have hidden.

3)    How to Resist Amazon by Danny Caine. (2019) The author, a bookstore owner, tells how Amazon manages to sell books at such a great discount. Books play such a small part of this massive industry that they can afford to take a loss on them while reaping in profits on other items. Meanwhile, book shops and stores have to deal with Amazon’s discounts, deals they can’t afford to offer without bankrupting themselves. The workers at Amazon and its offspring’s are paid poorly while the owner has become one of the richest men in the world.

4)    The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (2022) A woman in trouble finds a hidden door leading her into a secret library where she can be protected. People here are able to hide in the book stories! Unfortunately, someone is attempting to break into the library and she must help to defend it.

5)    The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (2023) This is the thick book that I am still only half way through. In one of the sections, a boy is taught to read by reading Moby Dick and then Great Expectations. He recites the stories to his family and then after being let go from college, he spends what money he still has on books to take back home to his village.

 

I am a sucker for reading and so, I can’t help but enjoy reading books about books. Like any hobbyist, I love anything dealing with the subjects I’m enamored with. I can’t help it; call it an addiction perhaps, an addiction that I don’t want to kick! 

Bad Luck?

 It was Friday night; it was dark and windy outside. It was also the thirteenth day of the month, Friday the 13^th!

    I was listening to a talk during the astronomy club’s monthly meeting. While the speaker was talking I was copying some things into a Word document. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees outside, at times, loud enough to cause a little apprehension. During the day the yard had been covered with broken branches and papers from the neighbor’s trash. The branches I’d have to pick up later but the papers would long be gone by morning.

    Suddenly, the lights flickered and then went dark. The speaker on my screen froze in place. I looked out the window and all I could see were the lights of a couple cars in the valley below. All the buildings and parking lots were dark. Even the traffic lights had gone out.

    I saved my document and shut off the computer. Then I went outside.

    The sky was clear, which certainly goes against Pittsburgh weather norms. Any time that an astronomical event happens, chances are that there will be clouds in the sky! Our sky is almost always cloudy.

    I grabbed my coat and went out for a walk around the block. I saw someone’s flashlight playing across their house and then it went out. I didn’t see anyone else. No one else had bothered to step outside and look around. Most of the houses were dark. A couple houses had solar lights on their sidewalks and porches, but they were unobtrusive. No flickering lights from candles or beams from flashlights could be seen.

    Coming around a bend I came to a house that seemed to be glowing. They had a noisy generator running beside the house and a couple lights lit inside. That house was the only bright spot in the neighborhood. The rest of the neighborhood was dark, and I walked with my head tilted up.

    Orion was spectacular; I definitely could see more stars than usual from my normally light polluted neighborhood. To the left of Orion was Sirius with Jupiter near Castor and Pollux higher above it. Off to the right were Aldebaran and the Pleiades. I watched a satellite pass through Auriga, easily seen and followed even with my poor eyesight.

    A car sitting a couple houses away started up, turning its headlights on. The reflection off of the chrome bumper of the truck it was facing caught me directly in the eye. Hoping that it would soon leave, I went behind my car, in the shadows to wait.

    I decided to take another walk around the block. The beautiful views of the sky kept me company until I got to the house with the noisy generator. He now had a couple spotlights on, shining onto his driveway, his neighbor’s houses and into my dark-adapted eyes.

    (“Thank heavens he had those lights on, he was protecting our neighborhood from bands of roaming vandals, muggers and rapists!” He was “protecting” us from seeing the stars above. I have to admit it…I did call him a few choice names!)

    Once I was past the noisy, glaring house and back into the quiet darkness, I started thinking about how this resembled the neighborhood of days gone by, before we became the frightened society that we are now. People’s porch lights would go out a short while after dark. If they did stay on they were only normal light bulbs, no flood lights or LED bulbs. The cities weren’t as brightly lit and we could see SO many more stars than now. The stars are slowly disappearing, and it is because we are afraid of the dark. What a shame!

    I passed a man in his car listening to the radio, his interior lights were on, I could see him but he had no idea that I had passed him. A bit further on, the car that had flashed me before was still sitting with its lights on. A woman sat inside, the interior lights on also, checking her phone for who knows what. I covered my eyes to avoid getting blinded and passed her by. She didn’t see me pass by either. Their lights hid me from them!

    I sat for awhile in a lawn chair in the front yard with my binoculars. Orion had moved behind a tree, a bit closer to the western horizon. Behind me, the Big Dipper was standing on its handle. Occasional blasts of wind whipped by. For the most part, it was nice and quiet. I was starting to get cold so I zipped up my jacket and returned to the inside.

    I lit a couple candles so that I could write a few notes and then went to bed and snuggled under my covers for a good night’s sleep. I originally thought that it was bad luck that my power had gone off, right in the middle of a meeting no less. Instead it was just the opposite. My Friday the 13^th ended up giving me a couple hours of quiet and dark sky. Who says Friday the 13ths are bad luck? Not me!

The End of a Short Month

It was the last day of February. Posts on Facebook were talking about an astronomical parade of planets that would be happening that evening. Like so many things posted on FB, I didn’t have any real desire to see it. I knew that 3 of the planets would be setting soon after sunset and two of the others would be visible only with optical aid. It always sounds so much more interesting than it turns out to be.

    Instead of watching the parade of planets, I decided to watch an occultation instead. Io, one of Jupiter’s moons was going to be disappearing behind the planet. I always enjoy seeing an object in space moving in real time! The occultation of a star that is light years away will be almost instantaneous. The star is a mere pinprick of light, gone as soon as it passes behind whatever covers it. When a planet’s moon crosses behind the planet, it might take a few minutes for it to completely disappear since the moon is an actual disc that we can see through a telescope. The increased time makes the movement that much more obvious and that much more exciting.

    The day was clear but of course as evening approached, while I was setting up my telescope in the front yard, patches of clouds started drifting in. The majority of the sky was clear but this is Pittsburgh, I knew that the sky will be covered soon. 

    After everything was set up I watched Jupiter and its moons. Io was close to the planet and on the far side, Callisto sat a bit further away. Ganymede and Europa sat further out on either side. With Io disappearing behind the planet and Callisto soon to be crossing in front of it, I could imagine how they were all orbiting the planet. The seeing was steady and I was able to add a doubler to the eyepiece to increase power without getting any distortion.

    Io slowly got closer and closer as I watched until it seemed to touch the planet’s surface. Clouds came and went as I watched and they actually helped me out. The planet’s disc was bright yellow and the moon was both smaller and a fainter orange. The brightness of the planet made it difficult to accurately see the moon as it neared. The clouds would change the color of the planet to grey and as the color faded, the moon became easier to see. This helped when the moon’s disc was partially covered! I thought a couple times that the moon had disappeared only to see it again as the seeing changed. 

    The moon was drifting behind the planet in line with northern cloud band. It was sometime after 7:29 that I lost sight of it. I then turned the telescope to the moon and enjoyed just roaming across the lunar landscape. The craters alongside the terminator were exciting to explore.

    I was wearing only a sweatshirt and the temperature was dropping. The clouds were also increasing so I decided it was time to call it quits. I didn’t need a flashlight to tear my set-up down. The moon was 93% illuminated; I could see my shadow as I was carrying things into the house.

    I missed the planetary parade, but then again, I wasn’t out there to see it. I saw the event I wanted to see and the clouds held off, for the most part, until I was tearing things down. My neighbors generously left their porch lights off and no cars drove by, shining their lights on me. I talked with some of them as they walked their dog and got to pet him for a bit. Petting the dog was "almost" as exciting as watching the moon disappear.

    All in all, not a bad way to end a short month! Come on March, bring it on!

A Good Day

 The alarm went off earlier than usual. It was Friday the thirteenth and Ann Marie and I were going out for an early morning ride. I walked over to the front door and took a look outside. The bright star Spica could be seen peeking through the branches of the tree across the street.

    Knowing that an ISS (International Space Station) pass was going to be happening soon, I got dressed to go outside to watch it. Due within a couple minutes, I returned to the door only to see it appear above the house across the street. I was able to watch it without even leaving the house! Now that is the way to observe on cold days!

    After eating breakfast, I went to pick up Ann Marie. Going out to the car I noticed the thin crescent moon hovering above another neighbor’s house. Four days away from new, it was only 16% illuminated. I think that crescent moons are so much nicer to see than full moons, since they are harder to find and we see them less often. Seeing one without searching for it makes it even more special. What a great way to start our journey!

    We had some rough plans to head towards Apollo and the Kiskiminetas River. Our plans are always open to change. We had some geocaches to find and hopefully we would also find a coffee shop to refill our car cups. The first stop of the day was a visit to our favorite bakery, Stocklein’s. This bakery, originally opened in East Liberty back in the 1930’s, was relocated to its present location, Penn Hills in 2009. We like it because of how everything there tastes like the baked goods from our childhoods.

    Our first geocache was an interesting find. It was hidden inside an upright post. A piece of cord hung inside it, wrapped around a bolt. It took us a couple minutes to figure out how to get the cache. We had to pull on one side until the cache was raised up to where we could grasp it. We found most of the caches, but a couple were inaccessible because of frozen piles of snow.

    While driving we passed a small coffee shop and promptly turned around to check it out. At Bear Roots, (on rt.66) the woman behind the counter put a fresh pot of dark coffee on for us. While we waited we looked around the shop and watched as cookies were made being in the back. Along with our coffees we got a couple cookies to take along with us. They were desert later in the evening. Our bill came to $13 which was appropriate for Friday the 13^th!

    We drove along some nice back roads, a couple paved only with gravel. They were covered with snow and ice but we had no problems traversing them. We drove through woods and fields and in places we were on top of hills, giving us nice views into the snow covered valleys below. We passed cemeteries both large and small, along with Churches and old cabins.

    When we reached Cochran Mills we turned back. At one time there was a community here. The first mill in Burrell Township was built here in 1800. Before long more buildings joined it along with housing for the workers and a small settlement evolved.

    One of the residents of the town was Elizabeth Jane Cochrane who later became well known as she wrote under the name of Nellie Bly. In 1887, she wrote about the injustices and evils of the Blackwell Island Lunatic Asylum by going into the asylum under cover as a patient. She also wrote about her journey around the world, challenging Jules Verne’s story, Around the World in Eighty Days. She accomplished the trip in 72 days.

    The town was demolished in the 1930’s. Supposedly there are still foundation ruins of some of the buildings along Crooked Creek. We didn’t attempt to find them, preferring to stay in the car rather than hiking through the snow, perhaps we will do it another time.

    Returning towards home, we stopped at the Pittsburgh Mills to meet our friends Frank and Kelle for lunch. After a filling meal we all went and found a couple more caches hidden around the mall area. Then we returned home.

    As far as Friday the 13^th’s go, this was a good one. Really though, I can’t remember any Friday the 13^th that was bad. It is just a number; of course it’s one with a bad reputation. It’s sort of like how the full moon is supposed to cause more crimes. I figure that every day will be good if you look for all the good things in it. By concentrating on the better things in our days, they tend to stay productive and worthwhile. Always keep looking for the positive and hopefully our days will all turn out well.

    Two of my favorite words are; triskaidekaphobia (meaning the fear of the number 13) and triskaidekaphilia (meaning the love of the number 13).  In case you’re wondering when the next Friday the 13^th will be, it will be next month and before the year is over there will be another one in November!

Chances are, they'll be good days!

Losing Our Borders

 Sitting in front of my TV, I came across a video about Borders Books stores. Watching it brought back a lot of good memories.

    We are coming up to the 15^th anniversary of Borders filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I find it hard to believe it has been that long. It was February 16^th, 2011. First opened as a used bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971, it grew to include over 1200 stores worldwide. The store prospered for 40 years during which time they became a part of so many of our lives. Just about everyone I talked with has some memories of a Borders bookstore somewhere!

    My daughter Chelsey and I spent a lot of time at the McKnight Road store. We would look around and get a couple books or magazines and then go to the café and get a cup of hot chocolate and a cup of coffee and sit down and skim through our books, enjoying the ambiance.

    I can remember vividly the time that I attended a performance by the Pittsburgh Opera at the store. A woman, I only wish I knew her name, was singing “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”, or “Love is a rebellious bird”. Also known as “Habanera”, it is a very sexy song! As she worked her way around the tables, she came to mine and looking me directly in the eye, she completed the song. I forgot about the others sitting around me, she was singing to me, to me alone! Wow, I thought I was in love! I wonder if she knew what an impression she made that day.

    There were many events I went to at that store. Two that I really enjoyed was when I went to see Neil Gaiman do readings at both the Northway Mall store on McKnight Road and the one on Rt.19 in the South Hills. Neil wore a black leather jacket, as did many of his fans. The place was packed. I hadn’t realized how popular he was. He signed a couple books for me at both readings.

    I also remember a night, sitting beside the window during a snow storm. With my usual mug of coffee beside a couple books or magazines, I was staring out at the blowing snow. I could feel the cold coming through the glass. My notebook and pen were on the table also but weren’t being used. The books sat unopened. It was a depressing night, I was thinking about the failure of my marriage. The cold weather outside reflected the way I was feeling inside. The bookstore gave me a warm place to go on a cold bitter night.

    Thinking of that night reminded me of how careful you had to be when going to your car on nights like these. The parking lot was sloped, and it was easy to slip as you went down to your car. Icy nights at that location were treacherous!

    Even though Pittsburgh had other bookstores, Borders became a favorite spot to go. They offered thousands of books, and they had a great children’s section for when my daughter came along. There were books about “almost” any subject you could want. Music and movies were a big part of the store also. Chairs were scattered around for your reading pleasure and then there was the café. Good snacks and caffeinated beverages were there for you while you shopped.

    Unfortunately, their internet presence wasn’t quite up to par. Try as they might, they just couldn’t keep up with Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. The costs of their huge stores also worked against them. After filing for bankruptcy, their final store closed its door in September of 2011. The company is gone, none of their stores remain, anywhere, including “my” store on McKnight Road.

    I can remember going through the store and looking at the shelves and trying to figure out where I could put them in my house. It was really sad to see price tags on the furnishings, it just didn’t seem right.

    There are a lot of books I bought at Borders in my collection. I’d be willing to bet that there are still a few Borders bookmarks slipped in between the pages. I have a poster from the store hanging on my library door. Even though it has been only 15 years, it seems like so much more. Borders bookstores have contributed a lot to me; at times I think the best things I got there were the memories!

    (Note: Now days, for our book buying needs, I hope you are taking advantage of the services of your local independent bookstores! Support small bookstores!)

A Week of Snow

 This past week was a cold one. A lot of it has been spent inside, looking out. I made a couple little trips during the week, to fill my lungs with fresh air and to give myself a change of scenery. It started off on Sunday, with the beginning of what the weather forecasters predicted would be anything between 3 to 80 inches of snow. They had been warning us about this for the past week. As usual, supermarket shelves were getting bare. I myself was looking forward to it!

    For once the forecasters had gotten it correct. First came the snow and then later, cold, cold temperatures. As the snow started to accumulate, I made numerous trips out to shovel my walk. These outings were the only times I left the house that day. As darkness fell, there was about 9 inches of snow in the yard. It was still snowing as I went to bed. 

    Monday morning I started digging the car out of the mounds of snow pushed up by the plows. Once the car was free, I took a short ride down to Etna and back. I was thinking about getting some pictures but most places hadn’t been cleared yet, so finding a spot to park was difficult. Back home again, I returned to my books and the boob tube.

    On Tuesday morning, Ann Marie and I went for a drive to get some breakfast. The drive to her house was uneventful but there still weren’t many spots to pull over for pictures. The hills and valleys still had that undisturbed look to them; the deer and kids hadn’t spoiled the smooth surfaces yet. The snow piles were getting higher at the ends of people's driveways. The diner wasn’t crowded and the food was delicious. It is always nice to have someone cook for you. The roads were still relatively car free.

    Wednesday morning I took a ride to Bakerstown to visit the farm market. I arrived before they opened so I continued north on rt.8. At the Country Kitchen I stopped to take a couple pictures and then returned to the market. The parking lots and roads still had large piles of snow around them, they wouldn’t be melting soon. At the farm market I bought some fresh vegetables, some apples and a loaf of bread. I then went to Ann Maries to share my bounty. 

    Later that night I braved the cold to watch the International Space Station pass below the planet Jupiter and then I took another short ride. Afterwards back at home, I retired to my book and a warm bed.

    Thursday morning, the frost was forming on the windows. I went down to the North Side to visit Arlan at City Books and to watch for trains. I finished the roll of film in my camera, so when I got home; I developed the film and then scanned it. I stayed inside for the rest of the day working on that, nice and warm.

    Friday, the end of the month, was a cold day! Ann Marie and our buddy Jim went to visit a coffee shop that was new to us. On the way to pick them up, I met a man down beside the Alleghany River taking pictures, wow, crazy huh? Who would ever want to do that? (Me???) I only stayed for a few minutes… As I was driving over to Ann Marie’s house, the car thermometer was showing that it was -3 degrees outside. We picked up Jim and then after a short drive we stopped for coffee.

      We had to search a bit before we found a spot to park but we found one about a block or two away. The sidewalks were a bit treacherous but we managed to get there and back without any problems. At Constellation Coffee we had sipped hot coffee while we BSed, sitting in the sunlight coming through their front windows. The shop smelled like fresh ground coffee like any good coffee shop should. We were warm and happy. Good coffee and good friends generate good conversations!

    Leaving the shop I saw a sign showing two things, both the state of our nation and the state of the weather!

      Saturday was spent at home. I only went outside to get the mail and to put out the garbage. I also made a trip out to the bird feeder but that was it. I took two pictures that day…here’s one of them. Afterwards… I ate my model!

    And then it was Sunday again. A week had gone by, the snow was still piled up on the street in front of the house, and the temperatures were still hanging below freezing. I like it but hopefully the temps will be rising soon, and the snow will start to melt. This IS Pennsylvania in the winter; it makes me look forward to, and to appreciate the rains and muds of spring. 

    I’ve reloaded my camera with another roll of film, and the digital camera is charged up, I’m ready for the next week, bring it on!