Throwback Thursday - Pennsauken, New Jersey 1964

Me at Bill's apartment in Pennsauken, New Jersey - 1964

This week's walk down Memory Lane via Throwback Thursday is of me in 1964.

The location is 3732 A Herbert Avenue, Penn Manor Apartments, Pennsauken, New Jersey.

This is my Bill's apartment.  Note the iconic mid-sixties furniture.  Right out of "Mad Men."  Bill had a nice sense of style before I came into his life and started to place all my mother's doilies around.

Note the painting on the wall, that's was by Bill too. Looks like a paint drop cloth but then "art" is in the eye of the beholder isn't it?  Bill tossed this painting when we moved in an apartment together.

When I met Bill in July of 1964, I lived in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.  Coatesville was 51 miles away from Pennsauken.  After our first meeting, in which I went home with him after meeting him at the Westbury Bar in Philadelphia, Bill would pick me up every weekend.  Yep, he would drive the 51 miles one way to Coatesville, PA and pick me up and drive me to his apartment in Pennsauken, NJ.  Then Sunday he would drive me back to my apartment in Coatesville.  He did this every weekend from July 1964 to February 1965.  Every weekend folks.  Hey, I think he liked me.  And I knew that no one else would ever do that for me.

The weekly commute to Bill's apartment

So that's my Throwback Thursday this week folks!

Me - Bill's apartment Pennsauken New Jersey - 1964

Pat, Spo, me and Someone at the Canadian National Exhibition last August

This morning I made my reservations for my annual end of summer trip to Toronto, Canada.  I got a good rate too! Under $300 for a round trip!

Downtown Toronto (photo taken by Pat)

Last year was my first trip to Toronto since Bill and I spent our honeymoon traveling through Canada in 1965. In that year we visited Toronto, Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa. I never thought I would visit Canada again in my lifetime until I met Pat a year and a half ago in August of 2013.





The above video was Day Two after I met Pat in August of 2013, when he drove down from his home in Toronto, Canada to Rehoboth Beach to get his old time photo made with me. You know me and my old time photos. By the way, he's coming down again this year as soon as my leg heals, so we can do another old time photo with our friend Larry Meredith. This was the first "Ron and Pat" videos. The beginning of a You Tube tradition!

Pat, Larry and me at Old Time Photo last year - we get a new photo this June

Pat and I do three trips a year.  One in January to Los Angeles.

The second one at the beginning of summer in Rehoboth Beach.

And the third trip to Pat's home in Toronto to celebrate the end of summer.

Pat's minimalist home in Toronto, Canada

I love Toronto!  What a pleasantly surprised to discover that Toronto is a very diverse city of many different types of people.  White, black, yellow, brown. Different religions, ethnicities and and cultures and I didn't feel the "you're different, you don't belong here" vibes that I feel in most places here in the country of the land and free, the United States of America.  The only exceptions (for me) where I didn't feel this animosity from most of the regular, "family type" white folks was Provincetown, Massachusetts and this past January in Los Angeles, California. 

A typical neighborhood Toronto street - Toronto isn't all skyscrapers and film festivals

Pat gets around in Toronto on his bike.  Actually a lot of people of all different demographic backgrounds traverse the heavy Toronto traffic with bicycles. Not me though. Way too dangerous. I don't plan in having any more accidents for a long time, thank you.

Pat helmeted up and ready to travel the clogged Toronto streets

Last year we met our friends Dr. Spo and Someone from Phoenix, Arizona during our end of summer holiday in Toronto.  Unfortunately, we won't be meeting this year because of scheduling conflicts.  We will miss their delightful company, especially when riding the rides at the Canadian National Exhibition and screaming like little girls.



Pat and I will just have to manage on our own to have a good time without Dr. Spo and Someone.
We can do that.  Look for the Ron and Pat videos on You Tube.  You know they're coming!

A Taste of Spring 2015 and Oher Thoughts

Today is one of those glorious spring days that hurts.  Here I am stuck in the house with this bum leg.  If I wasn't hopping around on this leg, I would be outside today surveying my backyard for "holes" to  plant daffodils for next year's bloom fest.

I also would be taking a walk on the boardwalk in Rehoboth.  This is the best time of year to walk the boards in Rehoboth.  The kids are still in school and the tourists are still at their homes.  Late fall and early spring are the best times for us locals to enjoy the coastal pleasures of Rehoboth Beach.  Looks like I'm going to miss that pleasure this year. But then I think of my friends Ed Cage and Wayne "The Cajun" Juneau . . . . their glorious spring days are gone now.  Ed died January 27th and Wayne died February 17th, one day before I fell and injured my leg.

Wherever they are now I hope they are in eternal bliss and raising a toast to us still struggling through every day life here on earth and trying to grab a little bit of happiness whenever when we can. Here's to you Ed and Wayne.

Ed and Wayne at the Purple Parrot

Still Riding in the Back Seat, But I Will Dance Again

How I travel these days

Just got back from some food shopping at my favorite local supermarket.  Yep, I'm still being chauffeured to the store in the back seat of my car. 

Bill drives up to the entrance to the store and lifts my injured left leg in the car as I back in the back seat. Then when we arrive at our destination, he holds my leg level while I scoot out of the back seat.  I've been doing this for almost two months now.  It's getting old folks, real old. But at least I can get out and shop. For that I am immensely thankful.  I think of all those folks who are missing limbs or have more serious injuries than I have who cannot get out to the store. Harrison Ford comes to mind. The survivors of the Boston Marathon Bombing who lost limbs. I have no room to complain I know but this has been my reality for the past two months and probably will be for the next few weeks.

Last week at my followup appointment with my orthopedic doctor, he hinted that perhaps I could dispense with my leg brace after my visit with him next week.  Oh what a wonderful thought!  I still don't have the confidence to walk unaided without a cane but I felt that way last week when he told me to ditch my walker. In fact, when I'm in the kitchen preparing a meal for myself I find myself moving about without my cane.  And last night when I got up for a nighttime visit to the bathroom, I forgot to bring my cane back with me!  

The best time of the day for me is in the morning after I wake from a restful night.  I sleep with my leg elevated.  For six or seven hours there is no pressure on my leg.  My foot isn't swollen from gravity. And the last couple of nights I notice that my leg brace is very loose when I wake up in the morning which means the swelling in my leg has gone down.  For the past two months my left leg has been significantly larger than my right leg from the swelling. But once I'm up and about, defying gravity, the swelling comes back like it is now. 

The left leg and foot after a restful night. The black on my big toe on my right leg is from a bad fitting shoe when I took a walk on the boardwalk months ago.  It will take months for that black of the stubbed toe to disappear. If it's not one thing it's another isn't it?

What gets me through the day is wearing a compression sock on my left foot.  I still have a swollen left foot but it is significantly lower. My mind isn't on the throbbing pain of a swollen foot all day.  I can actually concentrate on other things, like sitting at my computer and updating my Find a Grave account, iPhotos (which is now "Photo" and another whole story for another posting) and checking out my favorite blogs.  

One day, not too far in the future now I feel, this episode in my life will just be another addition to my Medical War Story library to share and bore with friends, family, co-workers and neighbors in the future.

I'm coming back folks!  I should be dancing and I will.

Celebration at The Grove Los Angeles, California

Time to return to Ron and Pat's Wonderful Vacation Adventure in Los Angeles, California:

Today's installment is of me and Pat and our wonderful, lovely, beautiful and gracious hostess Nadege treating me and Pat to a movie at the Pacific Theater at The Grove, the place to be in West Hollywood.  This isn't the Dover Mall folks (hardly). To say I was in culture shock (me, a Walmart and B.J.'s regular) would be an understatement. When we walked into the sumptuous, spacious and luxurious lobby of the Pacific movie theater I realized that I was miles and miles away from the Midway movie theater of Rehoboth Beach. Wow, I could get used to this.

The "Refreshment Stand" at the Pacific movie theater at The Grove (Pat is the third person from the right) - hey Raybeard, how would you like this to be your neighborhood movie theater?

You know folks, I don't think I could ever go back to the Midway Theater in Rehoboth Beach now. I've been thoroughly spoiled. Oh it doesn't take much to spoil me.  I've known from an early age that I have expensive tastes, way above my social strata.  I must have been filthy rich in one of my previous lives. Maybe I was one of those first class Titanic passengers that went down with the ship in 1912.  I don't know but what I do know is that I very easily gravitate towards expensive tastes. I am a snob. 

The movie we decided on was a Liam Neeson movie "Taken Three."  Pat had seen the previous Liam Neeson "Taken" movies and said this was true to the formula.  I liked the movie but I'm more of a "Downton Abbey" kind of movie guy.  But I loved the luxurious seats we were nestled in.  Wow, again this wasn't the Midway theater in Rehoboth Beach. Great surround sound, movie screen and comfortable seats.  What's not to like for $27.95?



After we watched the movie, we exited to the outside to decided what to do next. Nadege suggested the Farmer's Market. Oh, I've heard so much about the Farmer's Market. By the way, the rain . . . . very unusual for Los Angeles but it didn't bother us or the other shoppers at the Grove that day.  it was a gentle rain, not the kind of rain that you always see in the movie, buckets of rain. This was real life rain, not "movie rain" which is actually garden hoses from the side out of camera range.


Looking at these videos and pictures that I took of our California Adventure I am reminded of how lucky I am to be able to record these memories forever. I've been accused (by some) of "living in the past." Well folks, I plead guilty. My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures and videos in my past so I could relive me past and share these good times with those who are interested now. This is my legacy.




Continuing on with our rainy day at The Grove, if I lived in West Hollywood I daresay I would be hanging out at places like The Grove almost every day. So it's a good thing I don't live in West Hollywood because I couldn't afford it. Not with my modest bank pensions and Social Security and part-time job at the hotel in Lewes. I'm just small potatoes man, able to take a once a year fantasy journey to Hollywood and indulge myself with friends for a few fun days. Of course we will be returning next year.  Always great to have something to look forward too.

The food court at the Farmer's Market - The Grove Los Angeles, California

By the way folks, I think I'm finally going to make that trip I've always wanted to make my whole life . . . to my ancestral homeland . . . . England.  Yes, it is true folks, perhaps next year in the spring.  That is if my health holds out and I don't have any more accidents.  Time is a running out folks, the old Hour Glass of Life for me is quickly coming to an end.  I'm always surprised when I look at videos or pictures and realize they were taken six, seven and more years ago.  Time does go by so fast.  Now is not the time to put off That Trip for sometime in the future.  The future is here now.

Look closely and you'll see "Tipton" England - where my clan started out - located in the Black County of Midlands, England

Leg Injury - Progress Report

Well folks, I continue to make progress in my recovery from my leg injury way back in February 18th.  What an ordeal this has been.  Without a doubt this is the worst medical situation I've ever had, surpassing even my dislocated knee in 1962 and my six month bout with a staph infection after my hernia operation in 1959.  The kidney stone attacks and subsequent operations (two of them) last year were pretty bad but at least they didn't last this long. 

The worst thing about my leg injury (ruptured quadricep ligaments) is/was my swollen left foot.  Since the night of the accident my foot and lower leg leg has been swollen.  Numb, red, hot, pulsating and very uncomfortable.  The only relief I ever got was at night when I went to bed with an elevated foot.  In the morning the swelling had gone done to almost nothing.  But once I was up and around the swelling came back. 

My swollen left foot

During my visit to my orthopedic doctor this past week he suggested I wear one of those compression socks on my left foot.  I have several pairs of those sock from a previous episode of swelling.  They're very hard to get on but I struggled to get one on and it works!  The swelling is down and I feel almost human again.  I don't have to go through the day with a hot, numb, pulsating, constant pain foot. Even now, sitting at my computer (with my left foot elevated on a stool), the swelling is down.  I think I can do this folks!

I may have already mentioned this before but my doctor told me I didn't have to use the walker anymore.  Great!  I'm using a cane now.  And, get this folks, there are times I don't have to even use the cane!  





I can actually go a short distance on my own two legs. But I don't push my luck. I don't want to have my leg give out and fall and lose everything I've gained in healing the past two months.

I can bend my knee a bit more and I can actually lift my injured left leg to put my pants on, a big plus.  The things we take for granted.  My doctor told me the next time I see him (two weeks) I may be able to take off my brace.  Hey, then maybe I can bend my leg enough to ride in the passenger seat of my car instead of having Bill load me into the back seat.

This morning I went out on our lawn for the first time since my accident. I wanted to take some closeup pictures of the profusion of daffodils that are a blooming here at Casa Tipton-Kelly.  It's a regular Spring Paradise here folks!  

I got the bird baths up but I have to ask bill to refresh them every day which he isn't too happy about.  Soon I'll be able to refresh them myself.  Bill's not too thrilled with this extra duty I've foisted on him.  

Bill refreshing the bird baths this morning

So folks, maybe next month I'll be back to my regular, annoying self.  Walking and talking and being my normal active self.  What an experience this has been.  It's made me realize how fragile we are.  In a few seconds our life is changed, sometimes temporarily but it could have easily been permanent.  I still thank whatever guardian angel was watching over me that suggested that I walk back into the hotel lobby after I fell, because that is where I collapsed.  I could have easily collapsed in that cold, zero degree alley way and laid there all night. I cold have fell on my iPhone and damaged it and been unable to call 911 for help.  I could have died that night.  But I didn't and for that I'm thankful.  I still have a lot to do in this lifetime. I'm not ready to depart yet folks.  But if I did, the irony would have been that I would have died one day after The Cajun died.  

The Fickle Finger of Fate, I was spared . . . . this time.

Throwback Thursday - My First Home

My Mom pregnant with me at our first home in Mineral Springs, PA - 1941

Haven't done a "Throwback Thursday" for a while.  What with posting photos and videos of my trip to California and my leg injury, I thought posting a Throwback Thursday would be a welcome diversion.

This week's "Throwback Thursday" features me (of course) in about the earliest photo I could find of me.  Specifically the summer of 1941. I was born in November of 1941.  Looking at this picture of my Mother pregnant with me and the leaves on the trees behind her and the size of her belly, I estimate she was at least seven months pregnant.

My Mom was 17 years old when I was born.  She ran off with my dad, a 21 year old North Carolina hillbilly transplanted to Pennsylvania when he was 10 years old, to get married.  

Ike Tipton (my father)

Their first home did not have indoor plumbing, running water nor electricity.  My father worked at a local steel mill. They didn't have any money. But they did have me, their first born. Lucky them, lucky me.

And that was the start of the saga of my life folks.  Some life. And it's not over yet.