Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Happy Father’s Day – 2010
I always have mixed emotions about Father’s Day. Even today, I am sad that I am not able to physically hug and kiss the two men who were the strongest father figures in my life, but I am also filled to the brim with the “warm fuzzies” just thinking of them and remembering them. I always had and counted on my Grandpa – he took over after my father left us when I was a very small child and filled that void beautifully. But, I was often sad that I didn’t have a “Daddy” in my life. Until Charlie came into our lives in my mid-late teens and I finally had a Dad that made up for all the lost time! Charlie didn’t have to be a Dad to us, but he was proud to do so and we adored him for it!
It has been 12 years since I lost my Grandpa and 11 years since Charlie passed on. But, my heart is still filled with love for them. They are always with me – my guardian angels – my heros!
Happy Father’s Day Grandpa and Charlie — I love and miss you both so very much!
Here’s to my two favorite guys:
Marlin Freeman – my Grandpa
Charlie Culmo – my Poppie
Some songs that perfectly reflect my feelings today:
And a couple that hold special memories of Charlie. The first is “Teddy Bear” song by Barbara Fairchild – the one that Charlie and I considered “our song” and danced to whenever we heard it! The second is “Satin Sheets” by Jeanne Pruett – this one was Mom and Charlie’s song and one they both loved the most of any country song!
25 Years
The anniversary of a major milestone in my life is about to happen. It includes not one, but two major life altering events that, together, changed my life forever. The week of June 21st marks the 25 year anniversary of these two events and the start of a new life.
Friday, June 21, 1985 was a chilly day, as I recall. Sweaters were necessary as we worked throughout the day for the evening’s festivities. I had been planning for this day since October of the previous year when Ronald presented me with my birthday gift – an engagement ring. I wanted a simple, small wedding that reflected me as a person and I wanted to do it all myself – or as much as I could!
It was a perfectly memorable wedding – exactly what I wanted! We decided to have the ceremony at the Cobblestone Church in Childs, NY, which was built in 1834 and stands as the oldest cobblestone church in North America. It is part of the Cobblestone Society Museum Complex. The reception was across the street at the Village Inn restaurant. The Village Inn is also rich in history in that it began in 1875 as a stage-coach stop along the historic Ridge Road – a main artery for stage coaches traveling between the Genesee and Niagara Rivers. Both are historic landmarks listed on the National Registry and held special memories for me as I grew up. So, it was an absolute perfect choice to be married there! We also utilized the Ward House, which was located beside the church and built in 1836 as the parsonage for the church and also part of the Cobblestone Society Museum Complex and a historic landmark. This was where the wedding party dressed and prepared for the ceremony.
I worked so hard and planned every detail out…..it was going to be a candlelight ceremony befitting the venue. There is no electricity in the Cobblestone Church, so we planned to light the sanctuary with the kerosene lamps throughout the church, have candelabras at the altar, and my bridesmaids were to carry floral arrangements with candles. The ceremony was set to begin at 9:00 pm so that the candles and kerosene lamps would set the perfect mood! The picture of it all in my head was amazing! The one detail I didn’t consider – the one important key to the whole atmosphere – was the date I chose! It was June 21st – summer solstice – the longest day of the year! At 9:00, when I had assumed it would be dark – or at least deep into dusk, it was still daylight outside! And the church had regular windows – not stained glass, which might have helped to filter the light entering the sanctuary…….but, then, that was probably the point when it was built – they needed a lot of windows to allow the sun to shine in to provide light for their church services! So, it wasn’t quite the effect I hoped for, but it was still beautiful and we still used all the kerosene lamps and candles and it was amazing! And, it did start to darken up some after we started, so it all turned out OK!
Maid of Honor, Debbie, fixing my dress inside the Ward House
Mom securing my veil
My brother, Kevin, and I – Ward House photo-op before the wedding
Ronald’s niece, Jennifer, waiting for the wedding
I made her dress for the wedding
Leaving the Ward House to go to the church with my Poppie
Poppie walking me down the aisle with my Grandpa looking on
The vocalist sang The Captain and Tennille’s
“There is Love (The Wedding Song)”
Right after we lit the unity candle
while the vocalist sang Chicago’s “Colour My World”
Flower Girl, Jennifer, and Ring Bearer, Robby – my new son – leaving the church after the ceremony
Ronald and I outside the church after the ceremony!
Me at the beautiful fireplace inside The Village Inn during the reception
A fun photo at the reception
So, I mentioned that the week of the 21st marks not one, but two, major milestones in my life. The wedding was obviously one, which was a compound one given that it not only meant that I was now a married woman at the age of 28, I was also a new mother of two boys – Robby, 7, and Dusty, 13. Robby lived with us full-time from the start – in fact, since before we were married, but Dusty only lived with us for a couple short periods. That combination is enough of an adjustment……but, there was more to come!!!
My new family – Robby, Ronald, me, and Dusty
Yes, there was yet another major life altering event that happened that week – we moved to Sanford, NC! In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I was not only busy with the wedding preparations, I was also busy helping Ronald with yard sales to lighten our load and packing up all of our belongings to head south. We loaded everything up on a friend’s flat-bed 18 wheeler and watched it head out ahead of us.
Then, the morning after the wedding, we loaded two cars with stuff we didn’t want on the flat-bed. And amidst teary good byes, Ronald, Robby and I got in the cars with Easy (our beagle) and Roxanne (our pet racoon) and pulled out of my Mom’s driveway to move to Sanford. When we arrived in Sanford a couple of days later (we made some stops along the way), it was incredibly HOT! The flat-bed was parked under our new car port waiting for us to arrive. We immediately started working to unload it — and since I was not accustomed to the heat and it was still cool when we left NY, I passed out cold!!! hahaha Welcome to the south!
Ronald and me with Roxanne at Mom’s a day or two before we left.
This was a gutsy move that I don’t know how I managed the courage for, but I guess I was fearless at 28! The place Ronald worked in Medina, NY closed down and his family had moved to Sanford some time before that. They told him that there were jobs in Sanford, so he decided to start over there. He asked me to go with him, which led to the wedding. But, it meant that I had to quit a job I had at General Electric for 11 years. As it turned out, they closed that plant not too long after that, as well, but I didn’t know that was going to happen at the time. I didn’t give it much thought, though — odd for me — I can’t buy a pair of shoes without pondering my options for what seems like eons!!! I cashed in my 401K and the voluntary contribution portion of my retirement and Ronald sold his Cessna 150 airplane, a ton of antiques, and stuff he didn’t want to or couldn’t take with us. And that is what we lived on for a while……..because, get this, we didn’t have any jobs to go to!!! We had a house – Ronald’s parents found us a great house and secured the loan for us (because we couldn’t get one on our own because we didn’t have jobs), but we just figured we’d get jobs to pay for it when we got there!
Our first Sanford home on Steele Street
It took a little longer than we had hoped, but we did find jobs. Ronald got his job first and then changed to a better one that he was at for over 20 years before they closed down early last year. I did some odd jobs for a while – a horrible job at Eagle Electric, which I quit after about a month to go to Hardees (don’t ask – it isn’t a pretty story), a floral designer job, and I even cleaned houses for a while. Then got a good job in Apex, where I stayed for a little less than two years until I got a great job where I still work 22 years later!
So, all that was 25 years ago. Many of my friends in NY took bets that I wouldn’t make it a year in the Bible Belt as a “Kool-Aid Mom”! haha Guess I fooled them – I adapted better than they thought I would. But, it was a huge adjustment that I had to go through — one day I was single and care free, the next I was married and a Mom, and the next I was moving to a new state with no job and no family or friends – except, of course, Ronald and his family, most of who I really didn’t know that well.
As for my marriage, well, unfortunately that didn’t last. Ronald and I were married about 9 years. I regret that we couldn’t make it work, but it wasn’t a total loss. We recognized we weren’t good at being married and agreed to split before we ruined the friendship. And that friendship blossomed and got stronger over the years. We are still the very best of friends and always will be!
I continue to struggle with the fact that my family is all still in Albion. It is extremely difficult for me – especially after my marriage failed. I came close to packing up and returning when my step-son, Dusty, came to live with us and caused a lot of problems for me – but, he decided to leave to go back to his Mom, so I didn’t have to make that decision. I also thought long and hard about moving back when I got my divorce – but, I had a good job, I was going to college, I had a ton of debt, and the job situation up home was really bad. I knew it wasn’t the right time to make the move and I wasn’t as brave about jumping into an uncertain situation as I was when I was newly married!
So, if I could go back and change anything, would I? No, not really. Of course, I hate that we weren’t able to make the marriage work, but looking back, I’m not sure what we could have done differently and I wouldn’t go back further and skip that part – there was too much good that I would have missed out on and I wouldn’t have my best friend now. I also hate that I am so far away from my family – but, I make that work by visiting as often as I can and by being in contact with my Mom daily. I always believe that things happen for a reason. Right, wrong, or indifferent, the choices I made in my life got me where I am today and made me the person I am today. Not just these choices — all of them from the earliest life decisions to the ones I am still making for myself. I take full responsibility for all the good, the bad, and the ugly — and think I did OK!!!
So, when next week gets here, I’ll be reminiscing and thinking about all that has happened in the past 25 years and wondering why it flew by so quickly on me! A quarter of a century of my life – gone in the blink of an eye – and, yet, filled to the brim with adventures, laughter, tears, and change……..and there’s so much more to come – hopefully a whole lot more laughter and a whole lot less tears, though!
Saturday Morning in Sanford
I had the best Saturday morning in Sanford today! The weather couldn’t be more perfect – hot, but not too hot (but, just wait until the afternoon, I’m sure), with a nice breeze and a gorgeous bright blue sky! I had stuff on my “to do” list, but nothing that I needed to rush around for! And I just plain had fun!
I started out driving through town with the top down on the pony, Sanford’s WFJA 105.5 blarring out classic rock hits on the radio, and me singing along at the top of my lungs! I was bee-bopping and singing and having a big party in my car when I came up along side of a lady in an SUV with all her windows rolled up tight! I could tell she could still hear me or at the very least knew I was singing and having a party all by myself! When I noticed her starring at me, I smiled and waved and she instantly looked away as if to say “oh, no, the crazy lady saw me looking at her – don’t make eye contact – you might catch what she has!” hahaha I just kept having fun and enjoying my lovely Saturday morning! No prissy lady in a big SUV that doesn’t even want the breeze to come in her windows is going to spoil that for me!!! {giggle}
Then, I went to Marcello’s and Aprille gave me a much-needed pedicure – I now have soft, well-maintained feetsies and toesies and I feel so good!!!
From there, I went to Southern Jewelers to check out the new stuff my friend Lora Wright got at a show in Las Vegas! I fell in love with two amazing rings that I just had to have! So, that’s my shameless gift to myself for the day!
Then, I went out to the annual Arden sale and bought a really pretty umbrella for my patio table — just $35.00! Arden has a manufacturing site here in Sanford – they make high-end patio cushions, umbrellas, and other stuff like that! Each year about this time, they open up a warehouse full of discontinued pattern stock for sale – CHEAP!!! I just got all new cushions last year and they are still good, so I didn’t need any cushions. But, a big wind picked up my umbrella – table and all – and threw it across the patio and landed upside down, breaking the post and umbrella in several places! I loved that umbrella, but wasn’t terribly upset because I got it at Arden last year for $35.00, so I wasn’t out the big bucks it would have cost me in the store! So — I did need a new umbrella! I’m loving this one!
A biscuitville biscuit for brunch on the way home ended my morning adventure…………..now, I think I’ll curl up in front of the TV and risk falling into a nice nap!!!
Point Breeze – Rich in History and Rebirth
This is the view of the west side pier at the mouth of the Oak Orchard Harbor at Point Breeze, NY in 1871. Point Breeze is located on Lake Ontario in the Town of Carlton just north of my home town of Albion, NY. The lighthouse, as it is pictured here, was in place until 1916. A community non-profit organization is in process of rebuilding it. I’m so excited and can’t wait to see the finished structure!
I love being on or near the lake and especially love Point Breeze. I almost always include a drive to the Point when I travel up home for a visit. My Grandparents had a cottage on the lake at Sunset Beach near the Point and I cherished the time I would spend there as a child. We had a circle of friends who spent their summers there that we grew up with. I remember many, many warm summer nights playing kick the can, hide ‘n seek, and roasting marshmallows and pies around a campfire. In my teen years, I discovered how tranquil and calming being near the water was. I spent a lot of time sitting on a bench at the edge of the cliff that overlooked the lake – just sitting there thinking, listening, and writing poetry. One summer in my early 20s, my friend, Greta, and I rented my Grandparent’s cottage and stayed there for a few months. It was a great summer – we rarely had a weekend that we didn’t have a crowd there for a party! The memories moved to Point Breeze in my 20s – many nights sitting on the porch of the Black North Inn with some cold beers watching the boats enter and leave the harbor. Then, when I started dating Ronald, we’d take his sons to the point and the harbor to fish and feed the ducks.
The Black North Inn, Point Breeze, NY
Oak Orchard Harbor, Point Breeze, NY
So, Lake Ontario, Oak Orchard Harbor, and Point Breeze are very special to me and I enjoy any opportunity to go and reminisce. I also have a strong love for lighthouses. My dream home is a cottage-type lighthouse on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking the water. Since that likely isn’t going to be a home I’ll ever actually own, I’ve settled for a lighthouse theme in my guest bathroom! hahaha
Given all that, I was so happy to hear that a group was raising funds to rebuild the lighthouse that was at the Point from 1871 to 1916. The lighthouse and keeper’s house were built in 1871. The light was visible for nine miles and safely guided ships from the lake into the harbor. It was maintained by the US Government until 1905, when it was left abandoned. A storm caused major damage in 1914 and another storm washed what remained of the building away in 1916. The keeper’s house remains and is now a private residence, but photos is all that remain of the lighthouse.
The construction is coming along nicely. I bet the next time I go home for a visit, it will be all done and ready to be enjoyed. Here are some pictures my Mom sent me a couple of months ago:
Since I made a donation to the fundraising efforts, I get a newsletter from them from time to time with info and progress updates. I received one today and read about another historic link to the Oak Orchard Harbor that I found fascinating! It is about another favorite spot to visit when I go home – Brown’s Berry Patch! This is a family owned farmer’s market with wonderful fresh fruits, vegetables, and berries. They have a great gift shop and ICE CREAM!!! Apparently, the Brown family holds a prominent spot in the events that took place in the Oak Orchard Harbor during the War of 1812. I had to do some more research to get the whole story. Bathshua Brown was the widow of Elijah Brown. They married and lived in Connecticut in 1774-1776, when the British took their livestock and supplies and burned their home and farm during the Revolutionary War. Over the next 28 years or so, they moved around and finally settled on a 100-acre farm along the Oak Orchard River on the south shore of Lake Ontario in 1804. Elijah, unfortunately, died during the move, which left Bathshua and her 12 children (five sons and seven daughters – the remaining of 16 children born to Elijah and Bathshua) to work the farm. During the War of 1812, British war ships patrolled the Lake Ontario coast to hinder commerce. A British Captain was captured and taken to Bathshua Brown — as it turned out, he was the same British Captain who lead the soldiers who burned her home in Connecticut in 1776! She gave him three choices: be turned over to the American forces; allow her sons to have at him; or return to his ship and never come back again! He was never seen again! The farm, Orchard Dale Fruit Farms, has been successful and kept in the Brown family for all the generations since Bathshua and her 12 children settled there over 200 years ago! Brown’s Berry Patch was opened by the family in 1984 and has been a thriving business ever since — I never stop in there without finding it crowded with shoppers!
I continue to be amazed by the history and legacy of the area I grew up in and that provided so many wonderful memories for me!
Research Credits: The majority of the historical information used in this post was found on the Oak Orchard Lighthouse Museum and Brown’s Berry Patch web sites.
Beyond Sad
A picture says much more than words ever can….why aren’t more people outraged by the devastation that has wreaked havoc with the wildlife and beautiful waters and beaches along the Gulf Coast? What will it take to convince people to send a powerful message to BP: OK, so the worst that could possibly happen did happen — now when are you going to stop making excuses and shifting blame? It’s done – own up to your responsibility and FIX it!!!
Look at these photos and then look at the pumps before you fill up and move on to a station that doesn’t have “BP” on the pump!!! Don’t support a company that takes something like this so lightly and makes ridiculous comments like “Louisiana isn’t the only place that has shrimp”!!!
Drive-In Movies
I grew up during the height of the Drive-In theater popularity. I loved spending time at the Orleans Drive-In as a child and as a teen. Many memories center around nights at the drive-in.
Random thoughts / memories involving drive-in theaters:
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Mom would load us up in the station wagon wearing our jammies and toting our pillows and blankets. When we arrived at the drive-in and Mom got parked, we would go into the concession stand and get popcorn, drinks, hot dogs, etc. — cheap dinner and a movie for the family! Then, Kevin and I would run down to the park area at the base of the screen to play. They had swings, slides, and that thing that you would run to get it spinning and then jump on and ride around in circles until it stopped! When we saw the cartoons start, we’d run back to the car to settle in for the cartoons and as much of the movie before we’d fall asleep in the back of the station wagon.
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On nice nights, we might sit out on the hood or roof of the car or on lawn chairs we would bring with us.
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The concession stand teasers were so much fun……especially the count down to show time with the snacks doing circus acts. I particularly remember the hot dog doing flips before it leaps into the bun!
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An important ritual after leaving the drive-in was to drive through town before we headed home. Mom would wake us up and we’d drive down main street to see the stop lights flashing — the town put them on flashing after midnight. We’d get a big kick out of it and being able to say we were up late enough to see it!
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I was small for my age, so I was able to get in for the “under 12 is free” admission fee until I was 16 or 17! hahaha Even when I went with friends, they’d say I was their little sister! I got away with that until I started being the one to drive or when I started going alone with a boyfriend!
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My friend Mary Aina lived behind the drive-in. A bunch of us would frequently walk down from her house to the far back corner of the drive-in, stretch the last speaker as far as we could, turn it all the way up, and sit on a rail road tie that was just off drive-in property. We’d go in to the concession stand to get snacks and sit there watching the movie for free!
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Mom took a bunch of my friends in the station wagon up to Transit Drive-In in another town to see The Beatles’ Help! when it first came out.
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I probably saw hundreds of movies at the drive-in, but the only ones that stick out and I have distinct memories of seeing there are Patton and M.A.S.H! And I think I saw them both on the same night, if I’m not mistaken! Strange……..
And, here’s a real treat — a video of the count down to show time featuring juggling popcorn, tight rope balancing candy, marching ice cream, dancing sodas, and that ever popular flipping hot dog! Enjoy!
What’s New?
Lot’s going on — busy, busy, busy!!! All kinds of stuff to blog about and purge from rattling around in my mind!!! So, I will take a few minutes out of my beautiful, relaxed Saturday morning to capture some of my thoughts before I decide what all is in store for me today! Peruse through to hear about my recent adventures and see how pretty some of the key features in my yard look!
I took a quickie trip up to visit with my family over Memorial Weekend. The plan was to leave after I got off work at noon on Friday and head back on the late flight Monday evening so that I could have two full and two partial days up home without having to use any vacation days! Sounded good — didn’t work out, though! Oh, the trip was GREAT and I got to spend a lot of quality time with my family (more on that later), but the “no vacation days” part didn’t quite pan out! My return trip didn’t go exactly as planned. Apparently, there was a lot of severe weather in some parts of the country that really messed up air travel on Monday – particularly in Chicago, from what I was told. The risk in booking a late flight, in particular the last flight, is that it is usually delayed and sometimes gets canceled. My flight didn’t get canceled, but it did get delayed so late that it was scheduled to leave Buffalo about 40 minutes AFTER my connecting flight (which was the last flight of the night) was scheduled to leave Baltimore! So – my choices were to get as far as Baltimore and spend the night there OR stay at Mom’s another night and start out fresh in the morning………duh – that’s a no brainer! Both options meant I wasn’t gonna get to work on time the next morning and would need to take at least a partial vacation day! I chose to stay put! The next day wasn’t much better — had I chosen to stay in Baltimore, I still would have had to take a full vacation day because they were all clogged up with weather delays most of the day, again! I got home Tuesday evening and all was fine………BUT — I am sure after this and the last flight disaster that the travel Gods are trying to tell me to keep my butt on the ground for a while and stop gallivanting all over the country!!! hahaha
As for the trip home…….we crammed in a lot of stuff and managed to do a lot of relaxing, too! Mom and I went out to dinner Friday night after she picked me up at the airport. Then, Saturday was a full day — it started out with Mom and me making a big macaroni salad together – by the time we both stopped adding stuff that we each put in “our” mac salads, it ended up being quite a mixture of both of our styles and it was SOOOOO good!!! hahaha Then, we went to get flowers for the cemetery from Navarra’s and took them out to fill the crocks and wash the head stones of those who have gone on before us. All are nice and bright and cheery for the summer season! Then, we enjoyed an ice cream sundae at Double Dips before we went home to meet my brother and his wife for a cook out! Zweigles hot dogs on the grill, macaroni salad, devilled eggs, etc…… Mom and I ended the evening watching a couple of movies! Sunday was another day for the family to get together – my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew went out for lunch and then went back to Mom’s. More food and movies and fun! Monday was a relaxing day with just Mom and me before I headed to the airport, only to come back for a “bonus” night with her!
The big disappointment for the weekend was not getting to see my new great-nephew! Nolen was born in January and this was my first trip up since he arrived! The plan was to get to meet him and spend some time cuddling with him! BUT – my nephew’s wife went out of town with her family and took Nolen with her to meet some of her extended family! boo hoo!!! But – they didn’t know I was coming, so didn’t know to shift things a little so that I could get to see him, too! There is always next time………
This morning, I snapped these two pictures of my beautiful, crooked mimosa tree! I love this tree and look forward to it blooming every year about this time! When I first moved into my house, most of the back yard was crammed full of wild weeds and stumps and broken trees and vines. It was unusable, so I rented a back hoe and Ronald, Robby, and I worked to clear it out so I could do some nice landscaping and use the entire yard……OK, so it was actually mostly Ronald and Robby, but I also put some time in on the back hoe tearing out tree stumps and debris! One tree they wanted to pull out was this mimosa tree — because it had grown crooked and looked weird! But, I wouldn’t let them — I thought it was quirky, not weird, and if it fought that hard to make its way up through all the crappy stuff to survive, then it deserved to continue surviving! And I think it makes a perfect statement in my landscaping! Yeah, I know – these grow wild all over town and are messy when they shed their blossoms, but I still love it and it isn’t located where the messy blossoms are a problem! But, I do cut down the new ones that try to come up from the seed pods it drops – I don’t want a forest of them! hahaha Look at how pretty it looks in the corner of my lot and check out that gorgeous Saturday morning blue sky!
My special little Weeping Japanese Red Maple is really taking off and branching out. It was just a twig when the elves planted it a few years ago and in the last year or so, it has started to really get full and pretty! I adore it and it makes a perfect feature in the opposite corner of the lot that the mimosa is on.
I almost missed the Gardenia blossoms across the back of my house!!! The buds were just barely ready to pop when I left and by the time I returned, some of the blossoms were already spent! But, it is still blossoming and I am so enjoying them – they smell so marvelous and look so beautiful!
And Katie is loving the warm grass in front of the fragrant gardenias this morning, too!
So, that’s all for now…….I want to get out and enjoy this fabulous day!
Gone, but not forgotten
I rarely drive down Third Street, anymore. When I first moved down here – 25 years ago come June 22nd – I used to take Third Street all the time as the main route to get to the Kendale area. I get lost in my own back yard, so as I ventured out to learn how to get around in a new city, I stayed on streets I knew and that took me where I wanted to go with the least amount of twists and turns to have to remember. Horner Blvd was also a direct route that I took to most places, but the busy traffic was a little intimidating for someone from a very small rural town, so it was avoided whenever Third Street was a logical way to get me there. (Side note: I suppose it is appropriate to add that, at that time, Horner Blvd held another element of fear for me. Shortly after I moved here, I totalled my Camaro on Horner Blvd. Someone pulled out right in front of me from a side street in the peak of Friday evening rush hour traffic as I was driving in the outside lane going south. The impact sent my beautiful Camaro, me, and my 8-year-old son veering uncontrollably across the other three lanes of traffic – miraculously avoiding any other impacts and any serious injuries to me or my son – to land in the parking lot of The Meat and Cleaver restaurant – for those who don’t know, that was an upscale restaurant that used to be located on Horner about across from where that little laundromat is now, near the street that the Sanford Herald is located. It later burned to the ground and moved to the corner of Carthage and Steele Streets for a while.)
Anyway – I digress – back to the topic at hand – Third Street. At that time, the corner where Third Street crosses Horner seemed like the end of the world. There was practically nothing on that corner – the plaza with the furniture store was there, I think, but that was it!! It felt like crossing Horner at Third Street meant leaving Sanford on the way to Kendale – even though it was all still Sanford and “Kendale” was just a shopping plaza, not a separate town! But, we frequented Kendale to shop – there was a Sky City discount store (that and Roses – where the Dollar Tree and the YMCA are now – were all there was for discount shopping back then – no WalMart, yet) and the main movie theater there, as well as a bunch of other shops. Kendale was a booming area — my son loved it when we would drive through there just after dark to “cruise Kendale”, like the teenagers did! Also, there was almost always very little traffic on Third Street – the traffic light on the corner of Third and Horner was one that needed to be “tripped” to change. I remember coming up on that light on my motorcycle and having to wait for a car to come along and trip the light, but quite often found myself giving up and turning right on red and then circling back around to get where I really wanted to go. So, Third Street was a regular route for me to take.
Aside from that end of Third Street feeling like it was the far end of Sanford, the most prominent feature was the tobacco warehouses. At that time, they were actively used to store tobacco. At certain times of the year, driving down that section of Third Street was almost like sticking your nose in a bag of loose leaf tobacco. The smell of drying tobacco filled the air. I remember thinking it was a pleasant aroma (not like smelling a cigarette burning), but that when it was at the peak time, it would make me feel a little dizzy to breathe it in – sorta like a mild version of the time I tried to be cool and smoked in the girl’s bathroom in school and felt like the room was spinning! As time went by, the tobacco warehouses stopped being used for tobacco and they became run down and rusted eye sores along that area.
I rarely, if ever, take Third Street anymore – no particular reason, I just haven’t gone that way on a regular basis in several years. But, I drove up through there yesterday – one of only a handful of times in the past year – on my way to the Enrichment Center, where we held our CIS Board meeting last night. I took notice of the “missing” tobacco warehouses! They are gone……just a section of foundation wall remains. It isn’t the first time I noticed them being gone – I think I’ve been by there a couple times since they’ve been gone. The first time was a shock! But, this time, I found myself reminiscing about how Third Street used to be and how different a LOT of Sanford used be 25 years ago…………and decided to write about it! Maybe someday I’ll post my memories of all the things that have changed and grown in Sanford in the quarter of a century that I have lived here………but not today!
Danger WalMart Shoppers…..
I had to get groceries, some bedding items, and some other supplies this weekend, so to get it all in one trip, I went to WalMart on Sunday morning. In a matter of seconds, I narrowly escaped what could have been serious damage to the pony (OK, that may not be as dramatic as I intended – ANY small ding is serious damage to the pony, right?), witnessed a child that was almost injured (yeah, I know – this is where I should have used the word “serious”), and watched a head-shaking incident involving a handicap parking spot!!! One more reason why I HATE going to WalMart!
I drove around the parking lot looking for a spot that wasn’t a 30 minute walk to the entrance – they were PACKED, as usual. As I drove down to the end of one of the lanes with the flow of traffic towards the store, a man in a beat up car came flying around the end of the lane like he was Mario Andretti – coming the wrong way up the lane – and almost ran head on into me in order to position himself so that he could back into one of the open handicap spots that was angled such that he couldn’t pull in. Just as I slammed on my brakes to avoid the impact, he slammed on his causing his car to rock to a stop, threw the car into reverse, and rushed backwards into the spot without any regard for the family of 4 that were walking up the row – luckily, they noticed him and grabbed the child that was just seconds from being run over!!! He did have a handicap tag, so my initial thought was, “well, at least isn’t hogging a handicap spot without the right to do so.” But, I quickly changed my mind! Before I could even start rolling past him to continue on my way, he was fully stopped and hopped out of the car and – get this – RAN LIKE THE WIND into the store, causing a car coming down the main lane in front of the store to stop quickly to avoid hitting him!!! Now, I know there are a lot of reasons for needing a handicap spot that are not always be obvious to someone observing them walking from the car and that don’t necessarily impede their ability to walk normally (heart problems, breathing problems, maybe they are fine for short distances, but not longer ones, just to name a few) — BUT, if you can sprint as fast as this guy did, I would venture to guess that you could walk at a normal pace from a little further away and leave the handicap spots for someone who can’t!
Drive in WalMart parking lot at your own risk……
Grey’s Anatomy
Some years ago, I watched the very first Grey’s Anatomy. The hype before the season started got me all excited about a potentially great show – sorta like a cross between ER and Friends, from what I could tell from all the previews. I have to admit, I wasn’t impressed – maybe it was my mood that night, maybe I was just expecting too much – whatever the reason, I was not impressed, so I decided to not get interested in it. I didn’t go back to watch another episode to find out if I might like it afterall.
Friends hounded me for years about why I wasn’t watching on this show? Apparently, everyone who did stick with season one was hooked on it like a drug they couldn’t live without! I didn’t understand the enthusiasm – afterall, I did watch that first ever show and distinctly remember not being in the least bit impressed by it!
Then, a few months ago, I started catching a show once in a while on LifeTime – they play the previous season in back to back shows from 6:00-9:00 every week night. Then, I started deliberately watching them every day! I found myself wondering what happened “before” so I could make more sense out of what was happening now. I still wasn’t watching the current season – I didn’t want to spoil what I was getting caught up in on the reruns. I figured I could catch the current season from the beginning on reruns after the season ends.
The wondering what happened “before” started really eating at me — I had to know — I had to have MORE!! So, I started getting the DVDs from NetFlix and I watched a season at a time, beginning with season 1 and that first show I didn’t particularly care for……..guess what? I liked it, this time! But, doing it through the mailed DVDs wasn’t getting me through the seasons fast enough – I was receiving 4 DVDs at a time, but had to wait for the mail to come to get another set! So, I got a Roku and got them on “Watch Instantly” and sailed through the rest!
Once I saw all the “before” seasons, I gave in and started watching the current season about 3 or 4 weeks ago! So, now all I have left to catch up on is the first part of the current season………now that the season finale happened, the reruns should start soon and I’ll be able to get there! Maybe the season will get released on NetFlix soon and I won’t have to take all summer to catch up on the reruns!
And, you know what? I still catch most of the episodes of last season over and over on LifeTime, if I happen to be home and able…….
So, I have become one of “those people” – the ones who are so addicted to Grey’s Anatomy that I absolutely can’t get enough of it……..I am so wrapped up emotionally in the characters that I just can’t fathom the thought of not being able to see what happens to them next!
Then, last night happened…………….the season finale I alluded to a couple of paragraphs ago…………the one that was the mother of all Grey’s Anatomy episodes – no, that doesn’t accurately describe it — it was actually the mother of all season finales of all series of all time!!!! It was the fastest 2 hours of my life! I sat down in my favorite chair with my feet up on the ottoman anxiously awaiting the show to start at 9:00! Then, suddenly, what felt like 5 minutes later, it was 11:00 and I had never moved from that chair or the position I was sitting in – not even during the commercials – for fear that I might miss something!!!! I was totally and completely and utterly riveted to my seat! I spent those two hours engrossed, crying hysterically, and yelling at the TV to try to help the characters get through the horrible things that were happening!!! It took me a couple of minutes after it ended to get my breathing back to normal and decide if I was going to be able to get up out of the chair! I ran to Facebook to post my reaction and see what others were saying about it!
So, yes, I am hooked……..I can’t wait to catch up on the first part of this season so that I can say I have seen every single episode and it didn’t take me several years to see them all – like it did most of the fans! And I’ll bet most fans have to admit that they missed an episode or two over the course of the – what is it – 7 seasons!!! Not me!!! hehehehe
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