Um, I forgot something.... (!!) Last weekend as I was writing away, I apologize Alex - I didn't think about the incredible tattoo you got last summer! It's your second one, quite different in style from the Scottish broadsword on your forearm. One July (or August?) evening, Steve and I were sitting on the front porch. You asked us to come in, and pulled up your sleeve to show the outline of a "Mom" tattoo on your upper arm - featuring a dragonfly with a heart. It was SO unexpected, I was practically speechless. Obviously, I recognize how much thought you put into the design including bright colors. You know I love dragonfiles, and at the Susquehanna River where you often fish you've seen many over the summers. Dragonfiles here are usually a slightly irridescent, dusky blue color - sometimes they ride along with us on canoes. With ink colors added later on, below is the completed artwork. I'm still suprised and truly honored that you want to "take me along" in this special way. Thank you Alex!!!
I'm thinking about this topic as we enjoy a gorgeous, snowy morning. It's a Big Picture question.... Around the world, we know the devastation being caused by worsening wild fires, storms, floods and rising ocean levels. Mass migrations from worst affected areas are beginning, and will continue through your lifetimes. We are lucky that the northeast US will have be impacted less that many other places. But change here will be significant - there are projections that by 2050, Pennsylvania's climate will be similar to what's now typical in Arkansas. There are more gloomy details available from PA state government: PA Climate Change
In West Pittston specifically, the evidence for climate change is right here. Do you remember having a couple weeks off from school after the 2011 flood? And the resulting clean-up, and rebuilding of many homes? More recently there has been a government buyout program, resulting in homes being razed. Here is a historical story about hard-hit communities in our area including our town: One Flood Too Many And since we own 2 houses in West Pittston (although our houses are outside of flood zones), we absolutely do care. I think about the possibility that a future flood could potentially affect our homes, and we have a direct interest in the local tax base. The most obvious changes that we noticed in 2023 were higher temperatures year-round, comparatively more rain and less snow, air quality problems due to smoke from Canadian wild fires.
There is certainly hope a better situation in West Pittston if a levee is constructed. Take a look at this article, which is encouraging - and I know from a recent discussion with a West Pittston councilman that the borough continues to pursue funding agressively: West Pittston Levee This article mentions “...dirty rumors” that the borough missed out on a levee in the past because some residents did not want to ruin their river view. Years ago when Dad was a Wyoming Councilman (I'm guessing in the early 1990's), he came home from a West Pittston community meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers. After sharing maps showing a proposed levee for the borough, he told me some people spoke about not wanting to lose their river view, largely of Pittston City. He could hardly believe this happened! And that shortly after, the Army engineers rolled up their maps and left. So I would say not a rumor. I absolutely understand the cost-benefit analysis that needs to be considered for major infrastructure investments. And there are compelling arguments that property values and tax revenues from West Pittston's flood zones (including large, beautiful homes - many dating from the Victorian era) are critical to local for West Pittston and Wyoming Area School District. So let's do what we can to advocate for a levee, and in the meantime continue to enjoy this lovely river town.
Looks like we're getting about 6 inches of snow (Aunt Pam texted me, Dallas probably will be closer to 10 inches). Alex, you began shoveling both here are at North Street late last night. Here are winter wonderland pictures looking out from 215 Montgomery Ave earlier this morning..... They bring back fond memories of getting you guys into snow pants & boots, and heading out to Frances Slocum or the dike near the Midway Shopping Center for sledding.
It's been about 6 months since I wrote about what's going on your lives. So here is an update, written on the evening of this winter's first snow storm. You've both stayed busy.
Alex - The closing for your home on North St. was in late August. Wow, you bought a house!! I will write a separate post specifically about that, with some photos of before & after remodeling. Although the house needed primarily cosmetic work, it has been quite an undertaking. There is one final improvement to come soon - new flooring in the kitchen, back hall & downstairs bathroom. Maybe you'll be moved in by the end of January? whatever!! Meanwhile, things are going well at AZEK. During September, you filled in for a week at the Dahlonega, GA facility (unfortunately, it takes most of a day to travel each way from/to Scranton). Good relationships with your HR team and other co-workers, nice year-end bonus, expanded work responsibilities - partly due to a recent organization change that resulted in moving your office (and Scranton location HR files, thanks to you) from Corey St. to the Keyser Ave. facility. See more in this article: Plaskolite Sale. You bought a new guitar this fall. Also, did stuff with friends including Jeff and Tyler.... like fishing, went to concerts (I can't remember what bands) and spent an overnight in NYC just before Christmas. You took this stunning Christmas tree with a sleepy Oren photo a couple weeks ago:
Rob - So exciting, you went back to LCCC for the fall semester and got top grades in 4 classes - including calculus and chemistry. And a speech class in which you made interesting presentations, for example about the 1972 Bobby Fischer chess championship. This is a huge accomplishment, and all because you are Feeling Better!! Thankfully, your headaches seem relatively infrequent (Botox treatments are effective for you) and you're fully recovered from the Target concussion. This is absolutely fantastic, you are going on with your life ! In the meantime, you've continued working at Cracker Barrell on the weekends. Your apron is now adorned with "Robert" and 2 stars 😄 I went to Cracker Barrell's holiday party with you in November, it was a nice event. And we did some shopping together on friends & family days. Plus on a Sunday in December, Laura, Steve and I came for an early evening dinner and visited with you a bit. On a sad note, after a long decline Kyra and Luke's grandmother Lynne Bloom passed in early October and we went to her funeral. Here's a picture of Steve and me when we stopped in to Cracker Barrell to see the Christmas Tree you assembed in July.
On the family front, Aunt Pam hosted you both for Thanksgiving (Alex, she roasted your AZEK employee holiday turkey). Meanwhile, Steve and I spent a few days with Grammie and Grandad. Aunt Pam is doing fine, though challenged with some recent health scares with both Wolfie (who has turned 18!) and Freddy. Our kitties are fine. Steve has been working too many hours at AllOne Health. I've kept up with my goal of spending a weekend a month helping out in Wyncote. Grandad is struggling with late-stage Parkinson's Disease, you each made treks to Wyncote last year and had time with him and Grammie. Martha the cat is good company for them, quite adorable and happy for visitors. Here are photos of Rambo at home, also Martha balancing on the upstairs railing in Wyncote.
We had a nice Christmas. As usual, Christmas Eve at Aunt Pam's house. Then she and Steve's brothers Rich and Joe came to our house for Christmas dinner. Below is a snapshot of our tree on Christmas morning. Alex, your big gift was an amp to go with the new guitar. Rob, yours was a tablet to use for classes. Now it's on to 2024 - Happy New Year to us!
Last week, the original lead singer of an Irish punk/folk group "The Pogues" died - Shane MacGowan. Although the band was around in my college days, I wasn't aware of it until recently. Shane MacGowan was a talented and interesting man, Irish to the core. The Pogues song Fairytale of New York is about a troubled couple - it's a sad, funny and somehow still joyful Christmas song. It was recorded and performed with Kirsty MacCall, an English singer who was killed tragically... now over 20 years ago.
The song seems fitting in some ways, since I've discovered that Christmas can be somewhat melancholy. There could be many reasons for this, but one in particular is missing family and friends that we've celebrated with in the past. Sometimes it helps to recognize this, and then move on with enjoying our current traditions including lights inside and out, the tree, presents and family time. I'm looking forward to Christmas, 2023 - it's a treat for me to have you both living her over this holiday season.
Here are some favorite memories of Christmas "when you were little". Maybe I've written about this before, I'm not sure..... Christmas began and ended (sometimes in March) with trains. Dad had a train platform up at Christmas time every year as a kid, it took up a substantial portion of the living room at Grandma's at about waist height. He continued this once you guys were old enough, with a couple platforms on the floor at our apartment (with our Christmas tree on top). He got out various sizes of track though mostly Lionel O gauge, and set it up. Next, which trains from Dad's collection to get out each year was a big decision - passenger, freight, etc. You guys would watch, and when you were old enough were allowed to use the transformer to run trains. I recollect Tiger being quite interested, and sometimes not getting out of the way in time when a train was coming down the track. It was a great source of fun for all the boys of the household.
We typically went to Wyoming Presbyterian's service of lessons & carols, with Silent Night by candle light. Then we had a casual get-together at Uncle George and Aunt Rebecca's house. Uncle George made piggies and kielbasi - yum! There is one particular gift I remember you guys got from Uncle Jason - a multitude of green army men that became a hazard underfoot. Back at home, we set out a plate of cookies for Santa and reindeer food on the deck (supplied by Cookie Corner, the recipe seemed to be uncooked oatmeal and glitter). On Christmas morning, Grandma came over to watch you open presents. Meanwhile, she as well underway in preparing an incredible Christmas dinner. The Gerbocs including all the cousins who were home came in the early afternoon and we barely fit around an extended dining room table. She always had turkey and ham, and numerous vegetables & salads. Her mixed fruit was amazing, as you know since Aunt Pam has taken this over (Alex, you are learning how to make it). Grandma had baked cookies, plus I brought pies for desert. You may remember, she had real Christmas trees in both the family room and living room, and of course there were more presents for everyone. Grandma really loved Christmas, she did A Lot to make it extra-special.
You might be interested to know, as another fond memory - through the 80's it was popular to line sidewalks with "sand candles" (white paper bags, with sand in the bottom and short candles) on Christmas Eve. Here's a picture showing what it looked like.
I still think, at my advanced age of 58, that Christmas Eve is the most magical night of the year. It's lovely to go to church, enjoy the quiet after everything has closed down and go to Aunt Pam's. And to see many Christmas lights. I've tried to make Christmas the most special time of year for both of you. Kids should have wonder in their lives including magical beliefs, from the tooth fairy to Santa Claus. When I was living in the Dominican Republic, Christmas was a religious holiday - but the bigger family celebration was for Three Kings Day (Epiphany) on Jan 6th. This was day that kids got their presents, and I was very excited the night before. We lived about a block away from the ocean - I remember seeing the lights from a ship go by a ways from shore, and was sure the three wise men were on the ship. It's a nice memory, I know you each will have sweet Christmas memories too.
You boys didn't have a chance to know your Grandpa Carroll in this world. As young kids, you did spend a lot of time with your Grandma - which was a wonderful thing. When she passed in 2008, the best explanation for you both was that "her body stopped working". While it's great that you've had so much more time with Grammie and Grandad Rivers in the Philadelphia area, you don't get to see them nearly as often.
In the past couple weeks, we lost two extended family members. Aunt Margaret (Zeller) Carlson - Grammie's sister - passed after a few years dealing with dementia. Also Kyra and Luke's grandmother Lynne Bloom passed after a series of ailments including strokes. We know they had long, mostly happy lives - but it's not easy to say goodbye and we'll miss them. Rob, you and I went to Lynne's graveside funeral last Sunday and spent some time afterwards with Aunt Di, Uncle Lawrence, Kyra, Luke and others.
Here is a photo of Aunt Margaret from a short hike we took near Hancock to look out over the beautful southern New Hampshire mountains.
And below is a wonderful Bloom family picture from 2015, including Lynne (Bubbe) and her partner Gene (Zayde) seated in the front.
The cantor leading Lynne's service mentioned that she had been a light to her family and community. As we remember them, here's a sweet, simple African-American song about bringing our lights into this world - each of us sharing our unique personalities, talents and energy.
You boys have fairly deep roots in the Wyoming Valley. On my side of the family, it goes back about 75 years to the late 1940's when your great grandparents Burke and Phyllis Rivers arrived after serving churches in New Haven CT and Johnson City NY to establish their ministry at St. Stephen's in Wilkes-Barre. They were quite involved in the community and social life of Wilkes-Barre. On the Carroll side, it goes back at least 125 years to the late 1800's. I'm aware of the Warner family living in the Belin section of Moosic and working in the Dupont Company gunpowder plant. There were several horrific accidents there, involving explosions. I believe it was one of your great grandfathers who died in an explosion at a powder plant while working as night watchman. Your great grandfather Donald Warner worked for some years at a coal mine that I understood from your Dad was in Jenkins Township, across the Susquehanna River. He ran a furnace (which may have supported mine ventilation). Grandma told me she used to take him his lunch; Dad told me that his grandfather liked his house on Breese Street kept hot (such that everyone else tended to sweat inside) since he had gotten accustomed to higher temperatures at this job.
Today we drove down to Plymouth, and walked from a marker in Plymouth Township along Rt. 11 to the site if the Avondale Mine Disaster in 1869. This mine was owned by the Nanticoke Coal Company. Today, the site is maintained by the Plymouth Historical Society, which has posted helpful signs including photos. I just discovered there is a Wikipedia site about this disaster --> Avondale Mine. This terrible event killed 110 men and boys by suffucation (including a father and 3 adult sons, and 2 rescuers). The majority were Welsh, since many of the earliest miners came from Wales. The event bolstered the fledgling American labor movement and resulted in improvements to mine regulations, including that mines had to have a minimum of 2 shafts. And we certainly know quite a lot about the Knox Mine Distaster in 1959, which occurred literally across the river from us in Jenkins Twp/Pittston, and effectively ended deep mining (which was already in decline) in the Wyoming Valley. Your Grandpa reported on the Knox Mine Disaster early in his career - I believe this was on the radio, prior to his television career. This catastrophe was caused by illegal practices and killed 12 men; there are still annual commemorations in Pittston.
Below is one of the Avondale images I found on-line, along with a photo from the 150th anniversary commemoration held in 2019. Communities do not forget their tragic losses.
It is incredibly sad, and I'm glad we took the time to visit the Avondale Mine site and its ruins. We saw toads, a bunny and unfortunately many "baby" spotted lantern flies. Mosquitos were beginning to take an interest in us as we headed back to the car. Then we had dinner at Uncle Buck's in Plymouth. Rob, you are almost but not quite 21 years old. Alex, you are almost but not quite the owner of your own house on North St in West Pittston.
I love the mountains and the Susquehanna River in the beautiful valley we call home. Often I think about native Americans who lived here for thousands of years, the places they lived and paths they walked (such as Wyoming Ave itself). I have also thought about early European settlers, their forts and later farms. I find it fascinating to see the remaining evidence, all around us, related to coal mining history - which brought much development and led to Northeast PA making significant contributions to the industrial revolution. In my early years living here in the mid-late 1980's, I saw and spoke with older men who were sick suffering from black lung - a debilitating and absolutely terrible illness. And after today, I have a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices that so many made in the coal mining industry as men worked to support their loved ones.
It turns out there's a song about the Avondale Mine Disaster, written by George Korson - who was interested in folklore and music of Pennsylvania coal miners, and had ties to the United Mine Workers of America. Here is a performance of it by Jay Smar, a folk musician from a miner family (some background about him here --> Jay Smar). And you might also want to read the melancholy song lyrics, which you can link to here --> Avondale Mile Disaster Song.
This evening, finally, the hummingbirds came back. I saw 2 hummingbirds at our feeder outside the kitchen window. So fantastic, I've been waiting for them all summer !! Our gardener Steve's beautiful honeysuckle bush is blooming - he figures the flowers attracted these tiny, good-luck birds. They zoomed so fast, I didn't have time to get a picture. Then our neighbor Crystal sent me this photo of a goldfinch that perched at her window earlier today to look in. Wow!
Disregarding heat & humidity, mid-summer in northeastern Pennsylvania is a wonderful time. Flowers and lovely trees around our house, local fruit, early corn, tomatoes growing, fireflies lighting up the churchyard across the street and fresh air after thunderstorms. For the last few years, there has been canoeing or kayaking the Susquehanna River on one special day. This time it was last Saturday, kayaking from the Mehoopany bridge to Tunkhannock on a lovely, not-too-hot day - complete with dusky blue dragonflies.
In terms of happiness, I've noticed over my adult years that life is like a pendulum as I navigate ongoing changes. Some time is genuinely exhausting, painful, stressful and/or sad. Most of the time is some level of "things are ok", when certain good and bad factors coincide. And every so often, for a relatively brief period, mostly everything is going well and I am truly happy. I feel lucky that right now is one of those fleeting times. Here's why.....
First of all, I'm fortunate to be healthy for my age (58) and feel well. No aches and pains yet, I'm able to do everything I want to do. I try to appreciate this, knowing it's not likely to last. It's a treat for me to have both of you living at Montgomery Ave, where I can chat with you almost every day. Work at Prudential is challenging as always, but thankfully I am not working excessive hours. We are very stable financially. One problem with no easy solution... I'm trying to be supportive of Grammie and Grandad (recognizing that Aunt Di and Aunt Julie do much more), as they deal with older age and Grandad's progressive symptoms of Parkinson's disease. I usually spend a weekend in Wyncote each month.
Steve is a true partner and companion in all ways. We enjoy conversation, doing routine tasks of life and relaxing together. We support each other, as well as you boys and his girls - laugh, learn and plan for the future (retirement!). A good marriage is a truly wonderful thing. And I'm thankful Steve is willing to come on river outings, even though it gets harder every year to get in and out of the boats.
Alex, your plan worked! With Dad's estate settled and after looking at a few properties in June, you are buying a house on North Street in West Pittston. I'm still surprised that the stars aligned for this to happen, so quickly. This seems to be a great starter house, in excellent condition, plenty of space for you and driveway with garage for your car, fishing gear and other stuff. Yesterday your mortgage was approved, the closing will be in mid-late August. We are so happy for you, and look forward to helping you get situated. It's a big undertaking for a single person, you are very mature and wise to go ahead with buying a home (rather than renting). Congratulations!!
Rob, you have been back to work part-time for a couple weeks - at Cracker Barrell's retail store in Wilkes-Barre. It's fantastic that you feel pretty well (neck exercises must be helping), and so far seem content with this job. Glad you are establishing a new routine outside the house, driving consistently, earning some money and interacting with more people. As another new venture, you're currently trying a lactose-free diet. I am genuinely grateful to the healthcare professionals who have been caring for you. Looking ahead, you are registered for fall classes at LCCC. Yay !!
As Steve and I head off tomorrow for a weekend at the Jersey shore, I'll be thinking about both of you and appreciating this unique time in our lives. We're confident in leaving you to care for Oren and Rambo kitties, water flowers, bring in mail and keep an eye out for hummingbirds!
