Nineteen sixty-six is a year I think back to often. That was the year that I graduated from Pocono Mountain High School in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania. I was a shy kid, didn't apply myself in school as much as I should have. However, I made many good friends there. I think about them so often and wonder if any of them think of me.
A few days ago my granddaughter showed me her yearbook. She just finished sixth grade and her yearbook was in full color. It was beautiful and will give her many memories. She has joined the band and wants to play soccer next year. She also joined the animal science club this past year. She has a goal in her life already and wants to work with animals.
I took my yearbook out of my bookcase this morning and glanced through it. It gave me a little chill as I looked at the photos of the faculty members. Many of them were fairly old in 1966 and are probably deceased now. As with everyone I had teachers that inspired me and other teachers that just didn't give me that inspiration. Teaching is a great profession and I often wonder how many of them realize just how much of an influence they have on a young person.
I looked through that yearbook page by page. My class members brought a smile to my face. Each and every one of them made me wonder where they are today. Many, including myself, have moved away from the Pocono Mountains. Flipping through those pages I came to a friend that died way to young in his life. He was one of those that always had a kind word. Then I wondered how many others have passed away. We aren't old by any means, but many people die young.
A couple of those classmates I am still in touch with today on facebook. I wish I could get in contact with many others. I am going to try. It is easier with the men, but when the women marry their last name changes and it is difficult to locate them. I am sure most of them are now retired like myself. I wonder what their lives have been like and what they are doing in retirement. Personally, I worked 30 years in manufacturing and then 10 years in building maintenance. I have had a good life, a wife of 43 years, two wonderful children that I love so much, and 5 grand kids that make me proud. Now that I am retired I write. I have been published in Our USA Magazine and am now working on my third novel.
In 2016, it will be fifty years since we graduated. I wonder if we will have a class reunion? I would love to see some of the old gang again.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
PARANORMAL
I am one of these people that has to experience something for myself before I am a true believer. I believe in UFOs, have never seen one. So I can't say that I am a true believer. I just can't imagine that in the entire universe, earth is the only place with life. I was kind of on the fence about ghosts until the last place that I worked before I retired, I became a true believer.
I worked for a large church and was the custodian/maintenance co-ordinator. Often times I would be in the church by myself. I had a very flexible schedule and would often go to work in the wee hours of the morning so that I could have most of the afternoon off. The church was one of the best jobs I ever had, not the best paying by far but the best of working conditions.
Yes, I often was in the church by myself early in the morning, late at night, or on weekends, OR WAS I?
My first experience was very early one morning when it was still very dark that I was working in one of the upstairs restrooms that the light went out. Naturally I thought, oh crap the light bulb burned out. I felt around the wall until I came to the door and reached for the light switch. It was turned off. How could that be? I was the only one in the building. It was strange, but not of a major concern.
Sometimes I would hear people talking, singing, or doors slamming. It made me wonder what was going on in this church. I didn't have experiences every day but over the course of time I had many more. I would often set the thermostats up or down after my shift depending on the weather. It was one day when I was setting the thermostat upstairs that it felt like someone poured a bucket of ice water on me and I got the strangest feeling like I wasn't alone. The hair on my arms was standing straight up.
I never felt threatened but curious more than anything. I had a little office upstairs and the room across from my office had a little TV in it. One day I had to walk downstairs to the sanctuary for a couple of minutes. As I got to the bottom of the stairs to go back up to my office I heard this strange noise. What is that? I thought. It sounded like the strangest noise. I climbed the stairs and as I got to the top the noise was louder and louder. I looked in each room as I made my way down the hallway. I looked in the room across from my office and the TV was on to a station with the sound turned all the way up. It was on a station without a signal, just static. That time really sent chills up and down my spine. That happened to me twice while I worked there.
Another time on a Saturday I had just finished cleaning the sanctuary for Sunday services. I sat down in the pastor's chair and looked out over the sanctuary. As I was there the lights in the back of the sanctuary turned on, turned off, turned on, turned off, turned on, turned off. This kept up for a minute or two. All I could think of was, I'm not alone in this sanctuary am I?
My experiences in that church made me a true believer that there was something there paranormal. I never saw the ghost, but one of the women that worked in the office which was located in a building next to the church had to go to the sanctuary for some reason. I was working in a different part of the church. She came back to me and said, "You're not going to believe this, but I just saw a ghost in the sanctuary." I kind of chuckled and thought she was kidding. She told me that a woman was sitting in one of the back pews and looked transparent. She said it looked at her for a little while and then just faded away. She was really freaked out. Some of the girls that worked in the office refused to go to the sanctuary unless I went with them.
I never heard of anything happening during Sunday services or when there was a group of people in the church. I guess our ghost just liked it when only one person was around. I have no doubt that it wasn't evil, but a prankster. Well she pulled many pranks on me.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2014
I worked for a large church and was the custodian/maintenance co-ordinator. Often times I would be in the church by myself. I had a very flexible schedule and would often go to work in the wee hours of the morning so that I could have most of the afternoon off. The church was one of the best jobs I ever had, not the best paying by far but the best of working conditions.
Yes, I often was in the church by myself early in the morning, late at night, or on weekends, OR WAS I?
My first experience was very early one morning when it was still very dark that I was working in one of the upstairs restrooms that the light went out. Naturally I thought, oh crap the light bulb burned out. I felt around the wall until I came to the door and reached for the light switch. It was turned off. How could that be? I was the only one in the building. It was strange, but not of a major concern.
Sometimes I would hear people talking, singing, or doors slamming. It made me wonder what was going on in this church. I didn't have experiences every day but over the course of time I had many more. I would often set the thermostats up or down after my shift depending on the weather. It was one day when I was setting the thermostat upstairs that it felt like someone poured a bucket of ice water on me and I got the strangest feeling like I wasn't alone. The hair on my arms was standing straight up.
I never felt threatened but curious more than anything. I had a little office upstairs and the room across from my office had a little TV in it. One day I had to walk downstairs to the sanctuary for a couple of minutes. As I got to the bottom of the stairs to go back up to my office I heard this strange noise. What is that? I thought. It sounded like the strangest noise. I climbed the stairs and as I got to the top the noise was louder and louder. I looked in each room as I made my way down the hallway. I looked in the room across from my office and the TV was on to a station with the sound turned all the way up. It was on a station without a signal, just static. That time really sent chills up and down my spine. That happened to me twice while I worked there.
Another time on a Saturday I had just finished cleaning the sanctuary for Sunday services. I sat down in the pastor's chair and looked out over the sanctuary. As I was there the lights in the back of the sanctuary turned on, turned off, turned on, turned off, turned on, turned off. This kept up for a minute or two. All I could think of was, I'm not alone in this sanctuary am I?
My experiences in that church made me a true believer that there was something there paranormal. I never saw the ghost, but one of the women that worked in the office which was located in a building next to the church had to go to the sanctuary for some reason. I was working in a different part of the church. She came back to me and said, "You're not going to believe this, but I just saw a ghost in the sanctuary." I kind of chuckled and thought she was kidding. She told me that a woman was sitting in one of the back pews and looked transparent. She said it looked at her for a little while and then just faded away. She was really freaked out. Some of the girls that worked in the office refused to go to the sanctuary unless I went with them.
I never heard of anything happening during Sunday services or when there was a group of people in the church. I guess our ghost just liked it when only one person was around. I have no doubt that it wasn't evil, but a prankster. Well she pulled many pranks on me.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2014
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