I arrived in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on August 19th with my wife to attend my 50 year high school reunion. We spent a few days in the Poconos where I grew up and lived until I was 55 years old. It was such a peaceful country setting when I was a little boy. I would ride my bicycle all around without wearing a helmet and never feared for my life, I swam in a cold mountain stream, and I went to the railroad tracks to watch for the trains and waved to the engineers as they blew the horn and waved back. So many wonderful memories.
On the Friday we arrived in the Poconos. I had to stop at a couple of libraries and see the people involved where I would have a couple of author talks/book signings. We got to our hotel in East Stroudsburg a little after 3 p.m. It had been a long day and in the early evening we decided to get something to eat at Friendly's Restaurant in East Stroudsburg. My wife ordered chicken strips and I ordered a Turkey BLT without the tomato. Our orders soon came and the waitress walked away and I ate a couple of my french fries then took a close look at my sandwich. It looked awful thin and I took off the top slice of bread. All I had was lettuce and bacon. There was no turkey on my Turkey BLT. I called the waitress over and said, "I know I ordered a Turkey BLT, so where is the turkey?" She took the sandwich back and soon came back with plenty of turkey on my BLT. She said the cook said, "I thought I forgot something." OMG!!!
We did some driving around on Saturday morning before my class reunion in the afternoon. I drove past Penn Hills Resort in Analomink, PA which used to be one of the top honeymoon resorts in the Poconos. It was now all closed up, windows boarded over, and graffiti on the buildings. What a shame such a great resort had deteriorated into such abandonment. We also drove by Buck Hill Falls Inn. It was built in 1901 and was once the pride of the Poconos. My father worked there for a time as an elevator operator. He also sold his jewelry there in the gift shop. I often went there to see movies on the weekends. It closed many years ago and is now in a state of disarray. What a beautiful place it used to be, such a shame to see it now.
We then went to McComas cemetery where my father and mother are buried. There is no longer a McComas chapel and the cemetery is no longer taken care of. The grass was a foot high and needed to be mowed. I felt sad to see my mother and fathers tombstones in a cemetery that is no longer taken care of.
I did smile though as I thought of my mom and dad.
We left there to go to High Acres Park in Canadensis where a friend told me that my name and my brother's name were added to a memorial honoring those from Barrett Township that served in the military during Vietnam. It was a wonderful memorial and I knew many of the names listed there.
In the afternoon on Saturday we arrived at Memorytown for my class reunion. Before the reunion many of us went to take a tour of our old school. What memories I had as we walked through the halls of a school that we graduated from fifty years ago. It is amazing how the memories can flood back to you. We then went back to Memorytown for the reunion. I had more handshakes and hugs on August 20, 2016 then I have ever had in my life. It was so good to see around 40 of my old classmates that I hadn't seen in 25 or 50 years. We talked about old times and where our life has led us. We are all pushing toward seventy years old now so I imagine that will be the last time we all get together. I just want all who attended the reunion to know that I love you all and it will be a day I will never forget.
My two author talks/book signings that I had planned did not get the turnout that I hoped for, but an unknown author does struggle. I love to write and I will continue to write, write, and write.
On Monday we went to the West End Fair, a true country fair in Gilbert, PA. My wife and I could not leave there without having a funnel cake. Oh, it was so good. We listened to music, looked at the exhibits, saw the animals, and just had a great day.
Tuesday morning we went to a place that we loved to go to and haven't been to in years. That place is Bushkill Falls, the Niagara or Pennsylvania. It is a beautiful falls, but I will say it is nothing like Niagara. The walk to look over the falls was wonderful and I thought of the times us and our kids walked the trails of Bushkill Falls.
I want to thank everyone that helped to make our 50 year high school reunion a success. Thank you Marilou, John, MaryBeth, Malinda, Barbara and anyone else that gave their time.
We drove back to our home in North Carolina on Wednesday and were glad to get back home.
Copyright Larry W. Fish 2016
