PattybytheSea

I was listening to the Phils on WIP on a nice warm sunny day and was immediately teleported to The Can. Sitting in the front facing the road. The “loveseat” covered with an afghan, the tiny TV showing the Phils game, bad reception and bad color, but all good as Harry and Whitey came through perfectly. I can literally hear their voices as I would wander about the trailer. The fake wood covering the pull out dinner table and the counter. I can see Mom Mom at the little sink. Those fishing guys on the ledge staring at her. All those little cabinets hiding so much. That day I was driving and was listening, I was thrown back 35 years. Simpler times. Blissful. Happy. Pure. The Shore. The Can. The boardwalk. I can remember the off-white rope of the hammock and being so hesitant to get on it, but learned I had to get on it very carefully. The lights throughout with the side button to switch them on. Made of that plastic that only came out of the 70’s and 80’s. The shaped glasses with the yell...

A cold and rainy morning today. I happened to wake up around 545 this morning. Good cause I needed my insulin. I took a little mini vacation to Mystic, CT. Remembered how much I love the ocean and all things close to it. Remembering how that’s been part of my life, my happier life, for so very long. Always coming back to it. On a whim I booked a trip to Mystic, Connecticut. Amtrak had a deal I couldn’t pass up and I really needed a break from Philly cause, well, it’s just about as bad as I can take it with the violence and overdevelopment. Anyhow, took the train up at 6am. Not a soul in the station. Covid really does have tons of people working from home. I was excited to get away and got a spot on a pretty empty train. I was able to doze off and grabbed some sleep after snapping a few early morning pics.  It bothers me to no end that our creation of memories with you ended that fateful Sunday. It’s just like finishing the last sentence of a good book, but I felt like you had about...

Ah. The sun is shining today, but it has been a hard week. I feel like you’re around all of us. I finished my program which was a high and a low to finish being with that great group of people I was with the last 24 weeks. Now the goal is to get a new job. Preferably somewhere besides my company. Two moments happened this week and I really just wanted to share with you. I was picking up some fresh steamed shrimp in old bay and some tilapia from Acme. The guy who works there, older guy, just reminds me of a guy who loves talking to customers. Like you. So I always shoot the shit with him. So this time, I was up at the counter and he didn’t notice me from where he was sitting and eating his dinner. Hhaha. He let out some choice words and said he has no backup. He said it’s not your fault and of course I knew. We’ve all worked for companies that don’t do enough. I remember now you hated Acme cause they always seemed to shit on their good people. So we just get to talking about how you li...

 

It’s snowing again Mom. This is to make up for all those days the last two years we didn’t get snow. I remember the joy I would have as a kid seeing the snow fall on Grant Road. I remember waking up and looking out back to see the first falling snow. It was always exciting just to know we would have the day off and be able to have some good, clean (dirty) fun. When the street would get covered and night would fall, the silence was so serene. It was like the rest of the real world was so far away. I can always place myself back there. I remember vividly the really bad snowfalls we had in the 90’s. The entire street would be covered in snow. So much so that the street would have a nice 12” layer of snow to walk on. Before plow trucks were all the rage and the clean up started before the snow even stopped. I remember I would just go walking around with a sleeve of Ritz crackers, alone. The snow creating a winter wonderland. It was an age where I was transitioning from my Grant Rd friends...