Tornado Hits Lewes

Just got the news that a tornado touched ground and totally destroyed a house in Lewes and damaged fifteen others!  The house was located off of New Road, two miles from where I live and my route to work.  Too close for comfort!

It's been raining here hard with the winds since two this afternoon.  It's still raining hard with a few brief lulls and it is 10:15 PM now.  I'm afraid to go to sleep for fear of a tornado tearing the roof off of my house.

I was just talking to my friend Larry in Claymont (upstate Delaware) on FaceTime and he started to hear transformers pop.  Sure enough, after about the third pop I lost him.

I've been checking the hurricane storm tracker on Weather.com but it seems that it's stuck right over where we live for the last four hours!

The winds are really picking up now and the lights are flickering.  I better post this before I lose power.

Irene's Rains Arrive

Hurricane Irene isn't expected to hit us here on the east coast of the Delmarva peninsula but as you can see by the video, her rains have already arrived.  As I expected, the heavy rains are beating down my impatiens flowers.  Oh well, it happens every summer.  At least we enjoyed them for about a week after the summer long heat wave subsided about a week ago.

Look at the water that accumulates on the road out in front of our driveway, that's my worry.  During just a regular rainstorm we have a small pond out there.  I can't imagine what six hours or more of heavy rain will do to our little "pond" at the entrance to our driveway.

A friend just called from Pennsylvania.  He told me he heard on the news there was a tornado warning for the Milton area of Sussex County.  Oh wonderful, that's what we need now in addition to the oncoming tornado, possible floods and almost certain loss of power.

It's about time for my afternoon nap.  I'm hoping when I wake up all this has passed our little niche on the east coast of southern Delaware.

Old Friends in Lewes

Friends Larry and Ron have breakfast at The Filling Station, Lewes, DE 
January 27, 2011

One of the nice things about retirement is that you can spend more times reuniting with old friends.  


One such old friend of mine is Larry M. of Claymont, Delaware.  Claymont is at the northern top of the state in Newcastle, County while I am at the lower end of the state in Sussex County.  Kent County separates us.  Delaware only has three counties, we are a small state.


I've known my good friend Larry since third grade.  Now that would be since 1951 which is exactly SIXTY YEARS AGO!  NO!  We can't be THAT OLD.  Hard to believe.

Dressed as scarecrows for a sixth grade Operetta 1953
I am in the plaid shirt in the back on the left 
 Larry is on the back on the right

Larry and I used to trade comic books.  I would bring my stack of sixty of so comic books of the Crypt Keeper and Little Lulu's to trade for his Scrooge McDuck and Superman comic books. Oh how I used to love those innocent days.  


We both lived on Washington Avenue in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  Larry's family (he is an only child - both of his parents are in their 90's now and still on their own) lived in a rented house at 417 Washington Avenue near the East Ward Elementary School.  My family lived in a second floor rented apartment on 120 Washington Avenue, near Wagner's Grocery store.  Both of our fathers were truck drivers and our mothers were stay at home moms.  Larry and I clicked right away and we were best friends until his parents moved to Pughtown (what a name for a town)PA right before we were to enter tenth grade in high school.  Larry and I stayed friends but we had the geographical distance took away the "best friend" classification.  Bill B. became my new BF.  A boy has to have a BFF.

BF'S Larry, Stuart and Ron October 1957

Larry and I had a lot in common except for the big difference in that he is straight and I am gay.  But I'm a tolerant person by nature so I never held Larry's heterosexuality against him.  (Hey, I'm kidding Lar.)  


After we graduated from high school we gradually drifted away from one another.  I tried to get Larry to join the Army with me under the Buddy System but fate intervened again and his Mom wasn't having any of that.  So I joined the Army alone, which coincidentally was exactly 51 years ago to this day - I shipped out January 27th, 1960. A day I will never forget for as long as I live because I was scared to death when I boarded that for basic training to Ft. Dix, New Jersey.

Larry, Ginny (my blind date Larry set up up with) and me 1959
Ginny was nice but the blind date was an exercise in futility
I still hand't come to terms with my sexual identity

We kept in contact by mail while I was in the service but over time our friendship gradually faded into the background as our other life events demanded more of our time.  

Larry and me when I was home on leave from the Army in the summer of 1962

Over the years we kept in touch by Christmas cards, as I have done with many old friends, relatives and former co-workers.  However, except for one chance encounter on Spruce Street in Philadelphia, I didn't see Larry face to face for many years.


Then on Thanksgiving 2001 (I remember it well because it was the year of 9/11), I received a Thanksgiving card from his mother suggesting that I call Larry.  She told me that Larry had recently lost his longtime job at the bank where he worked in Wilmington and was depressed.  She thought maybe if I talked to him I could lift him out of his depression.  Larry's mother knew that if anyone could distract Larry from his doldrums, it was me.  I gladly accepted her challenge


Coincidentally, I had also had a longtime job at a bank (in Philadelphia) which I had recently lost.  I called Larry and that was the beginning of the renewal of our friendship.  

Larry and me at 10 Downing Street Restaurant 2003
Resuming our friendship after a 40 year intermission

From that time, now ten years ago, Larry and I have maintained an e-mail relationship.  We have differing political views.  A few times there has been periods of silence after a disagreement after a particularly heated e-mail discussion about a political issue (Lar is basically conservative and I'm progressive on most issues) but we overcame these minor speed bumps in our friendship and resumed our relationship like nothing ever happened.  That is the definition of true friendship.  Political disagreements come and go but friendship is forever.

Larry, his wife Lois and me on the Spirit of Philadelphia Cruise 2004
(Note:  I'm still traveling solo, no date) 

For the last two years Larry and his wife Lois planned a little getaway for themselves and visited the Inn where I work for a personal visit.  This week Larry and Lois came down for a visit on Tuesday night.  We went out to dinner at the Irish Eyes.  That dinner was the subject of my previous blog posting "How Not to Dine Out."  The problem wasn't them but the in house entertainment at Irish Eyes, some guy singing Irish jigs the whole 1 3/4 hours were  eating and trying to have a conversation.  Of course maybe part of the problem was that the waitress sat us ringside but I already explained that little adventure in my previous blog.


Last night I worked at the Inn while Larry and his wife were still guests at the Inn.  It was raining when I went in at 2:45 pm.  By 8:30 pm the rain had turned to a mixture of snow, sleet and ice so I decided not to risk life and limb by driving home after my shift ended at 11 pm.  I decided to stay overnight at the Inn, two doors down from my friends Larry and Lois.


My involuntary incarceration at the Inn was not really a bad thing considering that I work at the premier boutique hotel in Lewes.  That's one of the good things about working at a hotel, when you can't go home you have a place to stay.  I picked one of those plush rooms on the top floor with the king size bed after my shift ended last night at 11 PM.  Once my head hit that feather pillow, I was off in Dreamland for the next seven hours.  I didn't even get up to pee, that's how comfortable I was.  Man oh man, I DID NOT want to get up this morning.


So I get up, see that my car all iced over, and decide "What the hey?"  I'll have breakfast with my friend of sixty years, Lar.  

It looks innocent but that is ice on my car this morning

We walked down Savannah Road to The Filling Station Restaurant.  It wasn't opened yet so we decided to take a tour of downtown Lewes on the cold, gray, ice covered streets of Lewes, Delaware and take pictures.  Larry likes to take pictures almost as much as I do.  


So here is my photo essay of my Breakfast in Lewes, Delaware with my good friend Lar this morning, January 27th, 2011 while we were awing the restaurant to open:

Larry M, January 27, 2011 - Lewes, Delaware

Ron, January 27, 2011 Lewes, Delaware

Larry doing his best Samson imitation in the Lewes Park

Friday Night Dining Group

The Cracker Barrel Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

 I like to dine out.

My partner does not like to dine out.

My Partner Bill who DOES NOT like to dine out - we're at Zorba's in this picture

I do not like to dine out alone.

Dining Alone  -no two ways about it - it is awful

Thus, when my friend Bob C. asked me if I would like to join his "Friday Night Dining Group", I eagerly accepted.

Tonight was the first night I dined out with the group.  Our only criteria is that we dine at a cheap restaurant.  Good food, cheap food.  The Cracker Barrel fit the bill.

Interior of the Cracker Barrel restaurant

I have a good friend who also likes to dine out.  His name is Larry and he and his wife Lois like to "fine dine."  While I like fine dining too, I don't like the price that goes along with fine dining.  I ate with Larry and Lois once.  We at at The Buttery in Lewes and we did indeed have a fine dining experience.  We also had a fine dining bill for the three of us for $169, and that was before the tip.

The Buttery Restaurant, Lewes, Delaware

My friend Lar's goal is a bit different than mine.  Our dining experience is more about camaraderie and friendship than experiencing the latest cuisine.

Larry and Lois at Stripper Bites, Lewes, Delaware

Everyone in our Friday Night Dining Group are male and gay.  You don't have to be gay to belong to our group but that is the way it has worked out.  This group is a good way for single gay men to dine out with a group of friends instead of sitting at home or dining out alone.

Friday Night Dining Group at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant 

My friend Carole T. (a former high school classmate) in Pennsylvania belongs to a similar group called "hy Dine Alone?"  This group consists mainly of single older women.  It makes sense because most of these women like to dine out occasionally but they don't feel comfortable dining alone.  Carole asked me once to join the group for dinner one night.  I was all set to go but at the last minuted I asked how many women would be in the group.  She told me "about thirty."  I asked her how many men.  She told me "You would be the second one."  Ah ha.  I asked her about the other guy.  She said "He's 80 years old."  Hell, he was probably having the time of his life surrounding by all those widows and single women.  As a gay man, dining with thirty women who I'm sure are all delightful, wasn't particularly appealing to me.  What would be talk about?  Now, dining with thirty other gay men, talking would not be a problem.

My friend "Why Dine Alone" Carole

Tonight at the Cracker Barrel, there were eleven in our group.  It was a good mix.  Conversation was not a problem.  Hey, you get a group of gay guys together and conversation is rarely a problem.  It certainly wasn't tonight.

Good camaraderie  - I'm in the red in the middle with my mouth closed (for once)

Another plus is you meet new friends.  I did meet and make new friends tonight.  One can never have too many friend, especially in this cold and indifferent world of today.

I ordered meatloaf, steak fries, corn and string beans (which were cooked to a pulp.)  For dessert I had a concoction called Strawberry Icebox Cake.  The meatloaf was delicious and the dessert delightful.  Even better was the modest check.  No $28 prix fixe "special" dinner a la The Buttery.

But the best part of the night was meeting and making new friends.  Thank you Bob for inviting me to join your group.

Bob and friends Tim, Miles and David

Getting the Balance Back

Yesterday I returned to work to my job as a front desk clerk at the hotel.








Driving down New Road into downtown Lewes I was reminded of the back to back blizzards of last week by the six foot high piles of snow along the road.







After parking in the hotel parking lot and walking around the side of the building I hear someone yell “Ron!” from behind me. I turned around and it was the hotel maintenance man. With a big smile he said “Hey! We missed you!” Well, THAT was good to hear. I was glad to be back to work.  I missed them too.





Walking through the front lobby I was again reminded of how much I like working at this hotel. It has a “homey” feel to it. But then I’ve almost always felt that way about any place where I have worked. I always try to make my workplace personal and not just someplace where I work. I believe this attitude is essential for a successful performance of a job, especially in the hospitality industry. Of course it also helps that I work in the top boutique hotel in Sussex County.







As I walked to the front desk my manager said “How you?” The daytime front desk clerk greeted me and the sales director came out and said “Ron, I really missed you!” and gave me a big hug. Hey, it’s nice to be missed. I smile as I write this.







I clocked in and went out to the front desk to get caught up on the latest developments.







The sales director told me that she gave her notice and will be leaving her employment at hotel on March 5th. I felt bad about that because I’ve always enjoyed working with her. We’re around the same age and from the same general area of Pennsylvania so we had a lot in common. She has a naturally happy, upbeat personality which made the workplace a fun place to be. I like working with people who make work an adventure rather than a tedious task to be performed just to collect a paycheck. They bring out the best in me.







Because she is leaving and finding her replacement and training them will take about a month, I was asked if I could work my regular schedule in March (two nights a week.) I answered in the affirmative. It will be good to get back on my “regular schedule” and get the balance back in my life.







I’ve enjoyed the past two months off but I find that I need to have a reason to get out and interact with the public on a professional basis. I still have a need to contribute my personal skills to validate my worth as a constructive member of society. I know it sounds corny but this is the way I was raised. Like my good friends Larry and Bill from my school days, we all work and will continue to work until we no longer have the physical or mental capacity to do so. We are true Children of the Fifties. Our Moms didn’t raise us to be couch potatoes. Whether it is volunteering our time to a worthy cause like the ASPCA or using our skills on a Home Owners Association board, most of the members of my generation (the one right before the Baby Boom Generation) are still working even in our late 60's.







Looking outside the sun seems to shine a little brighter today. As Mr. Rogers (one of our favorites) always used to say: “It’s a good day in the neighborhood.”



Which reminds me, here is one of the many reasons I liked Mr. Rogers:



Mister Rogers seems to have been almost exactly the same off-screen as he was onscreen. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a man of tremendous faith, Mister Rogers preached tolerance first. Whenever he was asked to castigate non-Christians or gays for their differing beliefs, he would instead face them and say, with sincerity, “God loves you just the way you are.” Often this provoked ire from fundamentalists.




Well said Mr. Rogers, well said.



I remember seven years ago (March 2003) when I was working in the bond unit at a bank in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. I received a notice of a bond redemption request from the executors of the estate of a "Fred M. Rogers." The address on the bond was a Pittsburgh address. Could it be? I check and yes, it was the same "Mr. Rogers" of "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood." Sadness immediately washed over my heart like a cloud passing across the face of the sun. Yet another chapter of my life had come to an end. I felt a connection, however small, to this special man by putting through the computer entries that redeemed his municipal bond.



Although I am not religious in the man made definition of religion I do agree with Mr. Rogers in his statement: "God loves you just the way you are."

Another Day of Recovery

This morning I woke up to the bright light of a new day. The snow is still here but I feel the worst is over.




More snow is forecast for Sunday but it doesn't appear that is another Major Winter Snowstorm.



On the news last night I saw a statistic where only once in every 100 years does Philadelphia have 25 inches or more of snow. The last two weeks Philadelphia has had 25 or more inches of snow.



I don't know what the average is here where I live on the coastal plain of southern Delaware. I do know it is very unusual. All this snow and digging out brings back the bad old memories of my winters in Pennsylvania. I never thought I would experience those days again.



I was very angry at the Other Half yesterday for his constant mocking of me shoveling snow and then making blasting me at the end of the day as to why I was out driving around in our development when I was only helping our HOA person in charge of the snow removal. I blasted back. I've had it with the snow and the inconvenience that it causes.



I hit another snag this morning. I took a picture of the area at my front door to show what it looked like before I start shoveling the snow. I put the camera card in my computer and it doesn't work. Just another frustration. The drive is shot. Oh well, I has the USB cable. I'll use that and try not to let this latest snag ruin my day.



I would love to go out to the store and get a fresh supply of bananas but I'm not sure if I want to chance it on the still ice and treacherous roads.



My friends Bob and Jim are going to be rescued from their snowbound doublewide on their 22 acres of wooded seclusion. Bob's nephew is driving from Maryland to dig them out.



I heard from my friends Paul and Jack last night. They made the move before the second storm from Jack's place on Rt. 24, where they were without power and heat during the first snowstorm, to Paul's place in Ocean City, MD. They are in a safe place.



My brother John called from his home in sunny and snow free Greenville, SC yesterday. He told me our brother Isaac, who lives in the family home in PA, is still snowed in but does have power now. John told me that the snow has collapsed all the metal awnings on the house and the big metal awning next to the detached garage. Isaac is facing some substantial repair bills.



Most of my holly trees are gone. There were just sticks when we moved in here in November 2006. Over the past three years I have lovingly fed and trimmed them to a healthy, bushy green delight. I look out back now and I do not see them. They are gone, under the snow. I'll probably replace them with Leland Cypress trees this spring.



I am so tired of this snow and its aftermath. I'm looking forward to life going back to normal. I keep telling myself, each day will get better. And it will. Now to get that USB drive fixed. It's always something isn't it?

Here We Go Again

It's not over. While still recovering from the Blizzard of 2010, more snow is expected today. I awoke this morning to the rain softly pelting my bedroom window.




I look outside and see the kind of gray sky that precedes a snowstorm.



After my morning bowl of Corn Chex and banana, I go out to my driveway to shovel off the slight coating of slushy snow. Two minutes later the rain starts fall heavily. Out of the corner of my eye I see a gray figure. It is my neighbor walking his miniature Yorky. He's cursing under his breath and urging his dog to do her business they he hurries inside to the warmth and comfort of his house.



I was getting soaked so I returned to the warmth and comfort of my house. I hang up my wet jacket and change out of my wet jeans. Bill asks me "What are you doing outside?" Good question, just what am I doing outside?



While at my computer checking my e-mails, I get a phone call from my brother John in Greenville, South Carolina. He called to tell me how blinding the morning sun was at his house this morning. Some good brotherly love teasing to start the day. He tells me he called our other brother (Isaac) who lives in Pennsylvania. They're expecting another nine inches of the white stuff today. He says they're near to setting a new record for the total snowfall of the season. Oh how glad I am I don't live in Pennsylvania. I can't tell you.



John assures me that snow is headed my way too, even though I have rain now. And I fear he is correct. As I type this blog posting, the winds are kicking up outside the dual windows of my bedroom converted to a home office. I peer out the door and it looks like the dreaded "wintery mix." Some snow, some rain and some sleet. This is the kind of condition that brings down the power lines.



We dodged a power outage the last time. For that I am very thankful. Many of my friends and acquaintances were not so lucky. In fact, many of them are still without power. Some left for Florida (yesterday) and others are staying with people who have power and took them in.



Outside it is snowing again. Pretty snow. I hope our luck continues and we don't lose power.

Take it Back

I like to dine out. I think that’s probably because I never went to a restaurant until I was 22 years old. I had been to a few diners in my teenage years but never to a real restaurant.








My first restaurant was Da Vinci’s Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was back in 1964 when Bill (my partner of now 45 years) was courting me. He wanted to impress me and indeed, I was impressed. Prior to this experience I had only dined at the typical Fifties chrome diner. Those chrome palaces were the Exton Diner in Exton, PA and Zynn’s Diner in Thorndale, PA. My high school friend Larry and I also used to frequent Dick Thomas’s Foot Long Hot Dog restaurant also in Exton. But I had never dined in a real, white table cloth, fancy dancy restaurant until Da Vinci’s.







My first meal was Veal Parmesan. I also had never eaten veal. My father did not believe in eating baby animals. To this day I still have not eaten lamb chops.







Well, I was blown away out how good the Veal Parmesan was. I loved the attentive waiter, the white table cloth (I never ate at a table with any kind of table cloth) and the candles on the table. I liked everything about the dining experience. The food, service and an evening out with someone I liked.







These days I’m not dining out with my love (Bill doesn’t like to eat out) but I do dine out with friends every opportunity I get (as they will quickly tell you if you ask them.)







Today I took my friend Barbara out to lunch for her birthday. I used a gift certificate I purchased at a Red Cross silent auction a couple of weeks ago. The gift certificate was for The Wharf Restaurant in Lewes. I had eaten at The Wharf earlier this summer. It was a so-so experience. The Wharf is located right on the canal in Lewes but it is somewhat of a tourist trap. Generally you’re not going to get the best food at a tourist trap restaurant. Today was no exception.







Barbara and I seated ourselves at the restaurant at about quarter after twelve. There weren’t any other customers in the restaurant. We were the first customers of the day. One would expect fast service wouldn’t one? Well, one would be wrong.







The waitress was nice enough but once we gave our order, we waited….and waited….and waited. Both Barbara and I ordered hamburgers. I specifically asked if the hamburger was char broiled. I was assured that they had the option to do that.







When we finally received our order I noted that my hamburger was served on sandwich bread. What’s that? Then I looked at the hamburger patty. Oh oh. It was the old perfectly round, gray, formerly frozen hamburger patter of undetermined origins. I took a bite. This wasn’t a char broiled hamburger. This hamburger had no taste. It was tasteless like all the mass produced, frozen hamburger patties that are delivered to our area of southern Delaware by the many Sysco tractor trailer trucks. So my request for a char broiled real hamburger was ignored. They lied.







Usually, I would not say anything and try and finish eating the hamburger but not today. Too often my friends have told me that if I didn’t like what I received tell the restaurant. I especially wanted to let this particular restaurant I wasn’t pleased because when I ate there this past summer I didn’t let them know but I did write about it in a review I posted online. The owner of the restaurant responded to my review and told me that I should try his restaurant again and if I wasn’t satisfied to let him know. That’s what I did today. I sent the hamburger back. I told the waitress it had no taste. It wasn't char broiled. The waitress apologized and took the offending hamburger (with the sandwich bread) away to the kitchen. A few minutes later I saw the cook (a big woman) come out and look over at our booth to see who the offending patron was. What's that all about?



The waitress came back and I ordered a Caesar Salad instead. My dining partner had got a Caesar Salad and she said it was good. My salad was good but the salad itself wasn’t fresh. It looked like the leaves were precut because they were brown around the edges. They probably brought one of those bags of precut Caesar Salad from the local supermarket. It definitely wasn't freshly torn Romaine. I was hungry so I ate it.







I was hungry all afternoon. I hate it when I go to a restaurant and I leave hungry. But this isn’t the first time this has happened since I’ve dined out in this area. I'm not a big eater. I'm 6'3" and weigh 160. I'm not a pig but I do need enough to satisfy my hunger.





This is something that has always puzzled me, why is it so hard for many of the restaurants in this area of southern Delaware to make a good hamburger? I only know of a few restaurants that make a decent hamburger by using fresh hamburger meat. They would be the Purple Parrot, Dos Locos, Gilligan’s and the Surfing Crab. Maybe it’s because this is a seaside resort and seafood is the preferred dish. I’m not a seafood guy. With me it’s chicken, hamburger or eggplant Parmesan. After that first veal dish, as delicious as it was, I still don’t eat baby animals.



Tomorrow is another day. Wednesday I'm going out to dinner again at another Lewes Restaurant, the Villa Sorrento. I hope my experience is better there than I had today at The Wharf. I'm ready for another good dining experience at an Italian restaurant. It has been a long time.