Sunday, July 11, 2004

Summer Vacation

When I was a kid it seemed like June would never arrive.  It was torture waiting for the day school let out and it was summer vacation!  Free at last!  As a child, there was little to do than just be a child.  When my memories go back to that time, I understand that they are the best summers of my life.

Every year we traveled to New York City to visit my grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins.  I looked forward to the trip with great anticipation!  We counted the days.  The trips to New York always included a night at a motel, a side trip to Harrisburg, PA to visit another set of cousins, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike with the seven tunnels!  It could not get any better than that for a kid!  

Those years that we did not make the trip, they came to us. My Uncle drove his Silver Streak to Kentucky.   We loved that thing! I wanted so badly to jump on board with them and visit all the exotic places they traveled to, like Out West.  

As you can see from the photo, a very dominant Y chromosome in our family.  

The cousin closest to our age, K., was our favorite. He was a lot more worldly than we were due to him living on Long Island.  One summer he came to stay with us for a week!  What a week it was!    I am not blessed with the greatest memory.  The memories sometimes are as faded as the old photographs I find at my Moms.  Yet I vividly remember that visit, that summer, that incident.  

The little place I live in had a small movie theater in the heart of town. On Saturday's the matinee was only 25 cents for kids under twelve!  We all were twelve well past the deadline.   We all went to the movies one afternoon, the gang of that summer. K. was so sophisticated, being from Long Island, that it was no surprise to any of us when in the middle of the movie he decided to light up a cigarette!    Several moments later we all found ourselves on the sidewalk, thrown out of the theater and my mother called and informed of our infraction. 

Over the years, whenever we all get together it is referred to as the "Movie Eviction Incident."   I hope I can paste the picture of K. being taken to the airport.  It is old and faded, a sun burst blocks out his groovy hair (late 60's hair).  When I found this photo and turned it over I doubled up laughing.  My Mom had written on the back, "Kevin & his luggage visiting us taking off for home from Louisville."    Why so funny? 

Check out the luggage, a brown bag!

Opps..can not get the photo to stick no matter what I do!!! I have not mastered the FTP space as of yet..Sigh.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aw...the pic of the bag isn't showing but the one of you and the gang is priceless.
:-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

Mary, rename the photo. Sometimes, if I've already tried saving a photo to my FTP and it doesn't work right I erase it. But for some reason it doesn't seem to erase right away, so I rename it, reload it and try again. That usually works for me. :-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

I really like this entry...great images...nice writing. No wonder you're #1.

Anonymous said...

What a great old photo! Get a load of that sleek mobile home! Woooohoooo! (Hey for it's time, that was top of the line, baby!) lol  

Anonymous said...

Beautiful story!
V

Anonymous said...

whoa!  is this you and your five siblings?  all brothers?  i am oldest of six, but we are the opposite of your family - five girls, one lonely boy.  funny old world, yes?