ROAD TRIPS AND VACATIONS

I AM NOT A WORLD TRAVELER . I AM NOT EVEN A NATIONALLY TRAVELED INDIVIDUAL. I WAS A PRIVILEGED TRAVELER  MEANING I WAS WITH MY FOLKS WHEN IT WAS OKAY TO GO ALONG WITH THEM ON THEIR TRAVELS. HERE IS MY LIST OF  ROAD TRIP VACATIONS:

1967: PLYMOUTH, MASS WHERE WE STAYED AT A CHEAP HOTEL WITH AN OLD FASHION COKE MACHINE WE DRANK FROM.

WE SAW PLYMOUTH ROCK AND THE MAYFLOWER REPLICA.

WE ALSO WENT INTO A PROVINCETOWNM, MASS SHOP THAT HAD A SLIDE TO GO FROM THE  FIRST TO BASEMENT FLOOR. THIS WAS PURELY A VACATIONN WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY.

1970S: NEW SCRANTON, PA . DAD WAS WORKING HERE AND WE SPENT A WEEK WITH HIM ON VACATION THAT SUMMER. WE SAW LAUREL CAVERNS

 AND STORYBOOK LAND WHERE A GOAT ATE HIS ADMISSION TAG OFF HIS PANTS BELT STRAP.

1972, 1977: EAST COAST OF FLORIDA, NORTH MIAMI BEACH DURING EASTER  VACATION. I WENT IN 7TH GRADE THEN AGAIN IN SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, I HAD A CHOICE IN HIGH SCHOOL- NYC SENIOR TRIP (WHERE I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE HAD AN AWFUL LONELY TIME OR FLORIDA TRIP). WE STAYED AT FATHERSERS GODPARENTS HOUSE BOTH TIMES. AND WENT TO DISNEYWORLD. THE FIRST TIME THERE WAS THE SECOND YEAR IT WS OPEN AND HAD THE TICKET BOOKLET

. THE SECOND TIME THERE THEY WERE USNG THE STRING AND METAL TAB FOR ADMISSION FOR ALL RIDES.

1980S: CLEVELAND, OHIO . AGAIN DAD WAS WORKING THIS YEAR AND JUST ME AND MOM STAYED WITH HIM WITH OUR SECOND DOG AND ALL THE XMAS STUFF. WE ATE AT A PIER RESTAURANT WHICH WAS A SHIP EMBEDDED IN THE CLIFF OFF  LAKE ERIE,

FOR XMAS DINNER. I HAD SEAFOOD NEWBERG AND A CREME DE MENTHE PARFAIT/SUNDAE.THE WEATHER THAT YAER WAS SO WARM THAT WE JUST WORE CORDUROY BLAZERS TO THE RESTAURANT THAT NIGHT.

1983: SAVANAH, GA ON THE WAY TO WEST COAST FLORIDA IN A SILVERSTREAM

TRAILOR WITH OUR SECOND DOG AND MY GRANDMOTHER. HERE WE STOPPED OVERNIGHT  JUST TO SEE MY AUNT THAT DAY. THEN ON TO ELLENTON, FL WHERE WE STAYED AT A TRAILOR SPOT AND IT'S LAST SPOT IN A DITCH NEAR THE ROAD FILLED WITH WATER, FROGS AND BUGS GALORE.



1988: WEST COAST FLORIDA AGAIN IN ELLENTON AGAIN BUT AT A TRAILOR PARK ACROSS FROM LAST IN THE SAME SILVERSTREAM , WITH JUST MOM,. ME, OUR THIRD DOG AND DAD WHO WAS THERE LOOKING FOR WORK THERE. WE STAYED FROM JANUARY TO MAY THEN WENT HOME.

1994: BEVERLY HILL, FL ON WEST COAST IN AN APARTMENT WHILE WAITING FOR OUR NEW HOUSE TO BE BUILT . DAD WAS WORKING BY THEN. ON WEEKENDS WE MADE PROGRESS STOPS TO SEE IT THROUGH. WE MOVED IN THREE DAYS BEFORE MARCO HIT THE AREA. THE HOUSE WASS BUILT IN BRADENTON, FL.

SEVERAL SUMMERS WE STAYED FOR A WEEK OR TWO AT LONG BEACH COTTAGES IN WAYNEFLEET, ONTARIO IN CANADA FROM 1962-1976.

PLACES I WANT TO SEE ARE:
ARIZONA

HAWAII

ALASKA

ENGLAND,

NEW ZEALAND.

BUT PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

PETS

DO YOU REMEMBER ALL YOUR PETS? I DO!

FIRST DOG: someone gave my dad a hunting dog her couldn't keep, a beagle who lived outside in dog house with a mop flap all the timer. We brought him in one time during a blizzard but he panted like crazy; he went back out and was okay. We had to get rid of him because he bit someone walking by in the back alley next to your backyard.
He had a house mate an injured pigeon named Walter who eventually got well enough to fly away.

FIRST KITTEN: was a gift from a relative, a Persian kitten who on her first heat had kittens that were trouble. They were born in peat moss box in our cellar and she kept putting them back there after my mom put them up in the house in a nice box with a rug.They later torn at our curtains. We gave away all four and one was born with a rupture and died later that day. She was never spayed and escaped when two and never came back home.

FIRST PUPPY TO DOG: was when I was 6 yo. A brindle cairn terrier from breeders that my dad brought home from a work trip in Sugargrove, Pa .  She lived for 16 years and died from old age but an autopsy showed her had leukemia which we never knew because she didn't seem to be suffering. We cremated her and put her ashes in a can then cemented in a plastic box and buried her in our old backyard.

AUXILLARY PETS: the bugs in the backyard on lonely days . Sometimes I play mad scientist and pit two mean bugs against each other . I'd freak out when anyone killed ants or worms. Later when mice were killed.NATURE GIRL THAT'S ME. I even cried watching BORN FREE.

I ALSO ACQUIRED A GERBIL FROM A RELATIVE WHO HAD TO GIVE IT UP TO HER ASTHMA. I BOUGHT FOUR MORE TO MAKE 5. THEY HAD ONE BATCH OF BABIES BUT THEY CANNIBALIZED THEM. THE VET SAID IT WAS EITHER FROM BEING DISTURBED ( HAD TO BE LEFT ALONE TIL BABIES COULD FEND FOR THEMSELVES) OR MALNOURISHMENT. MY FAULT I TOOK PEAKS IN  OIN THEM.

I EVEN CAUGHT A TADPOLE ON A FIELD TRIP WITH MY TEACHER AUNT AND IT EVENTUALLY TURNED INTO A FROG BUT DIED  FROM COLD AND NO FOOD IN A FOOT PAIL IN THE CELLAR.

SECOND DOG: another cairn terrier, a blonde variety. from a locaL breeder. She was both my mom's and mine dog; while the first was purely my mom's. She lived for 13 years and died from kidney failure due to diabetes. I gave her shots and because her hip was injured jumping up on the lanai screen she was in a diaper for the last couple of years. She was also cremated but in a plastic box the vet gave us and is up on our bookshelf.

THIRD DOG: a white west highland terrier from a breeder in Lockport. We flew her down here in Florida. She lived for 13 years and died from enlarged heart and seizures She was my dog. Our vet never told us of her heart just that she had an irregular heartbeat.  She was also cremated and put in a nice wooden decorated storage box with info on the RAINBOW BRIDGE MYTH. SHE IS RIGHT NEXT TO OUR SECOND DOG.

PETS I WOULD STILL LIKE TO HAVE: RABBIT, FERRET, HIONEYGLIDER, ANGELFISH, SEADRAGON, SEAHORSES.

SCHOOL, ELEMENATARY MY DEAR READERS

MY SCHOOL WAS P.S. 38 WHICH IS NOW FRANK B. SEDITA MAGNET SCHOOL. I LIVED ONLY TWO BLOCKS FROM IT.  IT WAS A K-8 SCHOOL BEFORE MIDDLE SCHOOLS WERE POPULAR IN THE NORTHEAST US.  A PRESCHOOL PORTABLE WAS ADDED LATER NEXT TO IT.

THE FIRST DOOR WAS WHERE THE K-3 STUDENTS ENTERED AND WENT TO CLASS MOSTLY ON THE FIRST FLOOR; THE THIRD GRADERS WERE RIGHT ABOVE THE KINDERGARDEN CLASSES ON THE SECOND FLOOR.

THE MIDDLE DOORS WAS WHERE THE 4-6TH GRADERS ENTERED AND HAD TO GO UP A STAIRWAY AND TURN RIGHT TO GO TO THEIR CLASSROOMS.  THE SIXTH GRADERS WERE LOCATED RIGHT AT HEAD OF THE STAIRS NEXT TO THE RESTROOMS.

THE RESTROOMS SEPARATED THE 5TH AND 6TH GRADES FROM THE 7-8TH GRADE CLASSROOMS.
THE REST OF THE FIRST FLOOR INCLUDED THE CAFETERIA, HOME EC/STAFF LUNCHROOM, CLINIC, OFFICE, LIBRARY, AUDITORIUM, ART ROOM, MUSIC ROOM SHOP ROOM, GYM. LOCKERS ROOMS, AND POOL.

WE HAD CLASSES FROM 9-330PM WITH 7 PERIODS AT 45 MINUTES EACH AND A LUNCH AND RECESS FROM 1145AM- 1PM.

LUNCH WAS PREPAY BY DAY BEFORE THE BELL RANG TO BUY A TICKET TO STAND IN LINE,. I USUALLY HAD LUNCH IN ONLY WHEN THEY SERVED PIZZA, HAMBURGERS AND FISH FRY SANDWICHES, AND WHEN MY FOLKS WOULD NOT BE HOME. THOSE DAYS I BROUGHT A BAG LUNCH WHICH REQUIRED YOU TO RIGHT YOUR NAME ON BAG AND DROP IT OFF AT CAFETERIA BEFORE THE BELL RANG.  THOSE DAYS I WOULD ALSO EITHER BUY CHOCLAOTE PUDDING OR ICE CREAM TREAT. MY BAG LUNCH USUALLY WAS BALONEY, SALAMI, HAM, OR PBJ AND ON THOSE DREADED DAYS TUNA FISH. (YUKKO!).  AFTER LUNCH WAS RECESS WHERE WE USUALLY PLAYED IN THE PLAYGROUND NEXT TO SCHOOL. ON COLD RAINY DAYS WE STAYED IN THE AUDITORIUM UNTIL THE BELL RANG.  IF I HAD MONEY LEFT I'D STOP AT TWO OF THE STORES NEXT TO SCHOOL; JERRY'S

 AND SAM'S.

EACH HAD  DIFFRFERENT OFFERINGS.
 GOODIES FOR LATER IN CLASS AND THEN AT HOME AFTER CLASS.

THOSE SPECIAL CLASSES WERE ONLY FOR 7-8TH GRADERS (WHEEL CLASSES LATER). WE HAD A DIFFERENT ONE EACH DAY. (ART. MUSIC, GYM. SWIMMING, HOME EC FOR GIRLS, SHOP FOR BOYS,  GUIDANCE FOR 8TH GRADERS, HEALTH.) I WAS A C STUDENT IN MOST OF THEM.

ART:   I REMEMBER 4 ART PROJECTS-PLASTER STATUES, PERSPECTIVE DRAWINGS, TILE TRIVET, AND PAPER MACHE.

MUSIC: WE SANG 777 SONGS LIKE ERIE CANAL, SWING LO ETC FROM CLASSROOM MUSIC BOOKS, THEN ON TO POPULAR SINGS WE HAD TO COPY FROM BOARD AN DPUT IN OUR FOLDER, THEN MAYBE WE HAD 5-10 MINUTES TO PLAY OUR 45RPM ON THE RECORD PLAYER BEFORE THE PERIOD ENDED.

PE: WE STARTED BY RUNNING AROUND THE GYM 2-3X THEN ONTO GYM EQUIPMENT LIKE THE STALL BARS,

RINGS,

AND ROPES .
I COULD NEVER GO UP FAR ON THE BARS, FLIP ON THE RINGS, OR CLIMB THE ROPES.  I HATED TEAM SPORTS BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS PICKED LAST. BBALL WAS MY FAV CUS I HAD MY OWN HOOP AND THEN I SHARED IT WITH MY NEW BFF WHEN SHE WAS THERE.  I HATED THE 6 WEEKS OF PE FITNESS TESTING. I WAS SORE EVERY WEEK.
BUT I LOVED THE PARACHUTE GAMES AMD SQUARE DANCING.

SWIMMING: I NEVER LEARNED TO SWIM AND GET MY CARD SO I WAS ALWAYS IN THE SHALLOW END BY MYSELF NOT SO PLEASANT THAT IS UNTIL MY BFF STAYED THERE WITH ME EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS A SWIMMER.

HOME EC: WAS A COMBO WITH SEWING . I LIKED COOKING MORE. I REMEMBER INTERNATIONAL MONTH WHEN WE MADE TACOS, CREPES AND FONDUE (WITH 7 UP AND SWISS CHEESE, YUKKO!), AND POT ROAST. I REMEMBER GETTING BIG THICK COOKBOOK PUT TOGETHER WITH STRING. IN SEWING WE MADE AN APRON, THEN A SUIT USING A PATTERN (WHICH I NEVER FINISHED) BUT THEN MADE STUFFED ANIMALS FROM THE SCRAPS. WE USED THE OLD CHALK AND STICK HEM MARKER  LATER WE SWITCHED WITH THE BOYS FOR 6 WEEKS BU TI CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT I MADE.

LIBRARY: (Fridays) : WE WERE ALLOWED TWO BOOKS FOR TWO WEEKS. IN THE BACK WAS THE TEACHER SUPPLY CLOSET WHERE THE MIMEOGRAPH WAS WHERE THE TEACHERS MADE THEIR COPIES. YES THERE WERE NO XEROX YET, OR COPIER OR COMPUTERS.

HEALTH: AND LATER SEX ED . THE BIG PROBLEM THEN WAS POLYDRUG ABUSE WITH TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL. AND WE HAD THE FAMOUS SEX ED FILM TO SEE.

GUIDANCE ON FRIDAYS TO ET READY FOR HIGH SCHOOL ADMITTANCE.

AUDITORIUM WAS LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH, AT LAST PERIOD OF THE DAY; WITH MOSTLY MOVIES, A FEW SPECIAL GUESTS AN SCHOOL EVENTS LIKE THE NATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST AND ANNUAL XMAS PLAYS.

REGULAR CLASSES

MATH: HATED FRACTIONS, AND REMEMBER MOD MATH.

SCIENCE: LOVED LITMUS RESTING OF FOODS. THANKS TO A SUB I LEARNED TO LOVE SCIENCE, GOT A B.A. IN BIOLOGY, AND CERTIFED TO TEACH SECONDARY SCIENCE AND WRITE SCIENCE WORKBOOKS.

LANGUAGE ARTS: MY FAV CLASS AND TEACHER. LOVED VOCABULARY AND BOOK CLUBS (DELL AND SCHOLASTIC) I WAS ALLOWED 2 BOOKS OR $5 WORTH BY MY MOTHER.  I REMEMBER READING "THE FLOWERS OF ALGERNON". IN SIXTH GRADE LOVED STARR READING CARDS ESP THE MAPS CARDS.

HISTORY: SECOND FAV CLASS AND TEACHER, WE HAD WORKSHEETS TO FILL OUT AND STUDY FROM IN 8TH GRADE. I REMEMBER A BULLETINN BOARD CONTEST WHERE WE HAD TO GUESS WHO WAS WHO . IN 7TH GRADE WE HAD THE CIVIC CLASS AND WE SAW FILMSTRIPS WITH THE OLD SLIDESHOW MOVIES WITH THE BEEP. IN SIXTH GARDE I MADE A SPIFFY SALT MAP .