Go left, I said, when I walked outa the Sunoco station. I had half an hour before my car would be ready. I knew I'd have adventures. What was waiting for me?
I tried to keep up my aerobic pace and not stop, so I simply rubbernecked as I walked by the stores...Jarrett Dodge now only sells used cars...Victorian Village where Marion will move when her house is sold is a 15 minute walk from the center of town...and Mill Road, which one realtor said was the 'best street' in Hatboro was straight ahead on my left.
I wanted to check the Louis Kahn house. Our support group had gone on a tour there b/c one day I saw the late Norman Fisher outside his house and asked him. He paid Kahn $50,000 in 1960 to build him a house for his growing family. Fisher was a family doctor in Hatboro. He told me to call and talk to his wife, Doris.
Surprisingly, I still remember their phone number, last four digits are 1214. They had a huge unabridged dictionary and a key word on the top of the page was faculty. In my novel, we find the marriage counselor with her own dictionary turned to a page that reads....well, I can't remember, but look how we can use every type of experience we've had when we write.
As I turn down shady Mill Road, I decide to visit my old friend Alice, a woman my age who I met many years ago on my long walks. I knocked on her door and could see her husband moving about the kitchen. I gave a little wave.
Does a woman named Alice live here? I asked when Peter came out on the porch.
Oh, she died of cancer ten years ago, he said.
I said I was sorry and we talked about ten minutes more before I pushed along. You can't just go up to someone, have them tell you their wife is dead and then just leave. So we passed the time together on the porch, he asked if I wanted a drink of water and I said No.
I told him some other folks I remembered on this fine street. It was part of my walking path when I lived in the apartments. One woman, an older woman with white hair pulled back in a bun, grew red poppies in her front garden. That gave me the idea of growing poppies which I do.
See how people influence one another?
Maybe I will start smoking a pipe like Peter Flood does. It smelled so good. I could just sit on my backporch, listen to my new Keith Jarrett album -- Koln Concert which arrived from CA three days after I ordered it -- and smoke my meerschaum pipe like Robert Mattuck at Goddard College.
I greet each new day with love and curiosity. Many people don't, however. Just called a newcomer from our group. When she wakes up in the morning, she wishes she were dead. That's how bad her depression is.
When you're depressed you can't think straight. I gave her strict orders. Very nicely, of course. I was outside watering my new mint plant. I had attempted to plant the mint in another spot. I'm down on the ground digging a hole when suddenly I hear a buzzing noise, down on the ground.
Without thinking, I began poking around w/my digging knife, and then I saw the bee hive! Bumblebees, I think. A huge one was heading toward me so I rolled over onto the grass. Then I covered up the spot where I found the hive so they could live undisturbed.
"Irene" is an older woman says she doesn't have the money to get a consult with another psychiatrist. Her own doctor hasn't helped her in four years. You know what? Most people do have enuf money put away so I came in from the garden, sat down at the computer and got on our Top Doc list. I gave her two names, told her to pay out of pocket and keep me informed.
Ready for some photos?
When I went to Dan's thother nite I took this shot outside his house, as emblematic of the suburban life style. "Mom," said Dan, when he saw me photographing him from the outside, "that's creepy."To that I have no response except....it was worth it.
My handsome boyfriend Scott standing by his farm. I compliment Scott all the time. I love showing my feelings to him. I think he's given up teaching me how to use the remote control to turn on the TV or movies. "But you're so good on the computer," he says.
Scott and I watched one of our favorite movies, an annual event on TCM. Buddy Ebson was orig. offered the part of The Tin Man but was allergic to the makeup so they got Jack Haley. Scott said one reason the acting was so good was b/c they'd all been vaudevillians.
Preparing to meet the Wizard is a little like preparing to meet God. How does my hair look? Are there stains on my shirt?
Once a year I get my house cleaned. Concentrate on the kitchen, I said to Donna and her high school daughter who vacuumed the whole house. I just have a puny Shark Vac, not a deep cleaner. I refuse to lug around a heavy vacuum, just another quirk of mine. The kitchen floor looked brand new when Donna got finished with it. While they were here, I went downstairs to read Angela Carter's collected short stories. Never heard of her. Born in England, she was only 51 when she died. When I finished reading The Bloody Chamber I wanted to call up everyone I knew and say, "You've gotta read this." Heartbeating suspense, lyrically written, the kind of book you read and say, How can I ever think of writing a thing after reading this!
Interior of Yarrington Mills on South Warminster Road, Hatboro, PA. Yes, it's a manufacturing facility right here in the good ole USA, since 1915. They make trimming for athletic uniforms including the Phillies. Altho there was no work today, Saturday, half a dozen employees were buffing the floor. Jim actually praised every single employee he introduced me to -- "There's JoAnn, I don't know how she knows as much as she does, but she's amazing" -- I told him I watched a show on Irish-Americans last nite in which mine owners -- here in PA and neighboring OH -- tried to cheat their employees out of their money and did nothing to safeguard their journeys into the belly of the mines.
Jim was rightly proud of their operation which employs 30-40 people. I told him it reminded me of my Dad's business when he managed a huge warehouse in Cleveland. Nothing I love more than a humming factory which means jobs and manufactured products. And then I saw the lunchroom, which really brought back memories of Majestic Specialties, Inc.....
Here's Jim's desk with its beautiful aqua-colored accents. Perhaps they'll feature it in the NY Times. If I were a famous photographer, I'd take photos of people's desks. So interesting!
Next door was the famous Stutz Candy. When my kids were little, I used to pronounce it Schtutz, just for fun. Then little Sarah when to kindergarten and mentioned Schtutz Candy to her friends and no one knew what she was talking about. Easy does it, Ruthie. Gotta be age-appropriate with the kids.
After my dad died at age 59, I processed my horror by writing an article about the Hatboro Cemetery. It was owned by someone Yerkes at the time. When I snapped this shot, I saw the grave of a man named Krewson. My son's best friend, Mark Davis, used to live on Krewson Terrace.
A quick stop at Meadowbrook Farm to identify an unknown flower in my garden. A rambling geranium, said young Brandon. This photo was taken in their terraced garden, a small version, you might say, of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. People never change.
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