The month of October opened with a cool bright Sunday morning. We watched from the Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park. Paul Jr. and I participated in a 5K run around Memorial Hall for the Alzheimer Association. The Memorial Hall was erected in memory of the centennial of our country in 1876 and in that year was the center of the Nation’s celebration. It was a great way to start a month!
The beginning of the month also saw the end of the miracle referred to in September Jottings. There was a hearing to confirm the Mother’s consent and the natural mother did not appear and the Court confirmed her consent and gave custody of the child to our Petitioners, with the right to adopt. All that remains now is to have a “pro forma” hearing on the adoption. The miracle will then become a reality!
Some other good news is that Winifred survived her catheterization with flying colors and is resting at Mary T’s. (Unfortunately as you’ll see later in this report, she is back in the hospital). She had to forego her planned trip but I am sure she’ll get it in later. Win also told me about Father Dick being the subject in another book. He was an interviewee in Studs Terkel’s non-fiction, “Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It”. A Reviewer in the New York Times notes that: “The people interviewed for (the book), though diverse in their life histories are an inordinately a like-minded crowd, and the language spoken here in pure Terkel: the voice of the embattled old liberal shaking his stick at the 20th century – “Coming Of Age gives us a glimpse of a stage of life we all look forward to eagerly, considering the alternative.” I am sure if you wish a autographed copy of Father Dick’s interview that a letter to the Georgetown Community House would accomplish this. I plan to steal a look at the interview my next time in Barnes & Noble browsing the recent releases. So I’ll report to you at a later date whether you should fork out $25 for this “noble” experience.
I promised Meaghan McSorley that I would return to her “Grandpa’s Memories”. The next set of questions is entitled “GROWING UP”. It has questions like: “Grandpa describe the best birthday present you ever had. Why?” ” Who was it from?” and “What was your favorite toy?” ”When did you receive it?”
To these questions the memory cogs don’t operate sufficiently to produce truthful responses. There are some though like… “How much did the tooth fairy leave for a tooth?” “How old were you when you got an allowance and how much was it?” ”When you were given money, what did you spend it on? What could you buy for quarter?”
These bring some thoughts of the past. Like, when I was about 11 or 12 years of age, we were given a $1 a week. More properly we were permitted to blow a $1 on something frivolous like, piano lessons, violin lessons, or pay dues to become a Boy Scout. The choice was easy! The Boy Scouts, since then you could go to the summer camp…Treasure Island up on the Delaware where all the real men went in the summertime. Most people didn’t have a home at the shore and strange as it may seem now, the shore became a bore! (Words I have heard from some eleven year olds I know now!) So I opted for the Boy Scouts and later regretted I didn’t take those piano lessons like my sisters did. There are some others who also regret that I didn’t take those piano lessons every time I try to “fake it” on the keyboard.
The answer to the other questions are that the “tooth fairy” was very thrifty and I don’t think we ever got above a quarter, but maybe for a large tooth a dollar. A quarter wasn’t the standard in those days. A nickel was still a fairly good deal. It got a newspaper, a candy bar, a telephone call, or a soda. What vending machines I remember, all took a nickel… I think the allowance was a dollar but it was also tied to certain assignments. The first of which was keeping your section of the room clean, or drying or washing the dishes, as you were assigned. This was a great bargaining token. Like “If I do your washing today, will you do two of my dryings later in the week?” Drying was always a lot easier and less time consuming. You must remember,
Meaghan, we did not have dishwashers and none of those automatic washers and dryers that are standard in today’s homes.
It occurred to me after finishing this paragraph one of the important things a nickel could do: It could play a Juke Box record and for a quarter you could get six songs! So a quarter sure went a lot farther (as I am sure your Mom and Dad will often remind you!).
This recalling of things past seems to bring back some strange ones, like recalling walking into Winnie’s room and talking philosophy with Therese and Pat Sheehan and a friend named Peggy. I think it was called “Winnie’s room” because sometime before I was old enough really remember, Winnie had used this second floor bedroom. So it was Winnie’s room even though now Marge and Therese occupied it. The discussion of something so weighty as Philosophy by my sister and her friends sticks with me, probably because it was something surprising when it first happened. It was so revealing that I never let it slip away or it is just another one of those quirks of memory we all seem to have. Why it was surprising, is at that young age, I believed only men had such intellectual occupations and discussions. All derived, I’m sure, from my Father, I suppose, or at least I can blame him, since he’s not here to defend himself. In the same vain I often recall an incident of my mother scaring me on the second floor landing. She was coming up from the first floor and I coming down from the third, and in the darkness she said “Boo!”. I jumped a mile and I still remember it. Why, I never know?
The rest of the section on “Growing Up” section of Meaghan’s memory book, has these additional questions: “What was the naughtiest thing you ever did?”, “Grandpa, what games or sports did your Morn and Dad play with you?”, What was your favorite story that your parents either told or read to you?” “Grandpa? I’m curious to know about the worst spanking or punishment you ever received.” Why did you deserve it?” “Did you ever run away from home? Why?” How old were you at the time?” How far? For how long?”
No one likes to recall bad times, nor the things we did wrong. The memory computer is blessed with a capacity to forget those kinds of things. So it is not surprising that I like most cannot recall a great number of “naughty” things or at least I can’t recall any of those things I would want my grandchildren to know!
I do remember running away because I expected to be sent to Moco, short for Moyamensing State Prison. Every time we drove around the prison, which was somewhere around 21st and Fairmount, my father would exclaim: “If you don’t behave yourself, you’re going to wind up inside there”! (Pointing to the enormous stonewalls that surrounded Moco). So one day when I was practicing my snowball tossing I managed to break the window of a passing trolley car, the car stopped, the conductor pursued, and I disappeared as fast as my legs would allow. I went around the block somewhere to a place behind an apartment house, which was known to Anne and Roie, and maybe even Marge (though I doubt it, Marge was always too old to play with us!). Later Anne and Roie came to my hiding place and gave me a complete report. The reports were all grim. The conductor had gone up to 4116 Baltimore Ave. our home, and reported the incident to Mother. The trolley car, Route 34, ran up and down our street, so it was no problem for the conductor to do so. It was further reported that Father was expected momentarily and that it was to him that the report would be relayed for proper disposal…or action. The conductor left with the assurance that no further prosecution would be necessary. I know I was there until after dark. My dinner was still waiting for me and I was assured by either Anne or Roie that I could come home and would not be sent directly to Moco.
I remember also that I didn’t receive a spanking for the incident but a royal dressing down by the “Judge/Archbishop” who probably assured me that I was closer to Moco than I could imagine.
I think this is the best I can do right now, Meaghan, but between now and my next report I’ll think about the questions and see if I have any more “naughty” incidences to be recalled.
I also must report that Winnie is continuing to have problems with her health. She had a few more visits to Paoli Memorial and is at this present date (10/22) still a guest at that establishment. I won’t bore you with the details but I thought you’d like to know so you could drop her a line or a card.
I had a request from Father Dick to wax philosophically about “time”. But I am going to save that until the “next time”. See you soon!