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| Me, Christmas 1967 Philadelphia, PA |
This picture was taken in 1967 at our apartment at Cheswick Square in Roxborough (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania.
I think it was me and Bill's third Christmas together. I was really into the whole Christmas gig then. Presents under the tree, tinsel on the tree.
At that time this picture was taken I was working at Girard Bank in Philadelphia in the Trust Operations Department. I was a remittance clerk. I sent out the checks and statements for trust beneficiary customers, of which I was not. I started that job at $70.00 a week. Our rent on that two bedroom apartment was $145 a month. There was also a pool in the apartment complex. All may life I wanted to live in a place with a pool. I got to enjoy that pool for two seasons until it was taken over by the kiddies. The frustrating thing about the kiddies taking over the pool was that most of them didn't even live at Cheswick Square, they were "invited guests." Growing up I always dreamed of swimming in a real pool. I'm still dreaming that dreams. Briefly, when Pat and I were seriously considering moving to Palm Springs California, I thought "Now a pool!" But I've changed my mind, I'm staying at Casa Tipton-Kelly here in southern Delaware. The taxes are low, and I have a wonderful almost an acre back year. Some of my neighbors have a pool but I never see anyone using those pools. I probably wouldn't either, the "pool season" is so short here in southern Delaware
We only stayed at Cheswick for two years. When it came time to sign a new yearly lease, the apartment rental went up to $165 a month. I had always wanted to live in a real house, and preferably center city Philadelphia so I could walk to work and the bars.
We found a nice row house on the edge of center city Philly for $27,000 which I thought was SO EXPENSIVE. We put $5,000 down and had a twenty year mortgage for $119 a month. For the first two weeks after signing the purchase agreement I was sick to my stomach, think I had made the biggest mistake of my life. Of course I didn't. We lived at 24th and Naudain Street for eleven years, selling our house for $98,000. We built at new house in Downingtown on seven acres of land. We purchased the land for $25,000 and built the house for $100,000. We lived there for twenty-five years until we could no longer afford Pennsylvania's conficcatory school real estate taxes and sold the house for $500,000 in 2006. By the way, that cute little row house in center city Philly is now worth over $800,000
When we lived there we were on the edge of black Philadelphia. Now the whole area is gentrified. Million dollar abodes all over that area now, we couldn't afford to live there now. Delaware will always be my home until I depart this dear life.
As you can tell by this wordy post, I don't have anything on TV now. The coverage is all retrospectives of what went on last year. I KNOW WHAT WENT ON LAST YEAR.
Have a good evening everyone. I'm going to try and find a movie on Netflix that doesn't open with one of those kitchen counter sex scenes.
9 comments:
Oh yes---Did you receive your care package from Simon and David---
Now that is a great Christmas tree. My kind of tree from an era that still knew how to properly decorate for the Christmas season. The tinsel/icicles were perfection. And the man next to the tree was no slouch! Sexy! My great grandmother would say of men she felt were good looking and dressed well that one is a Sizzling Hot Tall Drink Of Water and he wears his clothes well. I'll bet he is a regular in the confessional before mass on Sunday, Great grandma was in her eighties but she wasn't dead yet. She once asked me after surveying my new Easter suit if I had decided if I was "dressing to the right or left". She was a hoot. And Ron you still got it and are a sexy good looking mature hunk and you know it too! Haha! As I have gotten older the less I care for straight sex scenes in any movies of any genre. Now I do however enjoy a good looking bare assed male now and again in a movie. I am an ass man and will be to my dying day. A good basket can get me going, too. Especially one on a good looking ER doc in scrubs. I recently was in the ER and they couldn't get my BP under control and the nurse saw me watching the doctors in their scrubs at the desk. She walked over to thhe sliding glass door to my "bay" as they called it and hit the button made the glass go opaque and she turned looked me in the eye and said "now let's see if your BP settles down a bit." I smugly said that you can't get me for what I am thinking though. We both laughed, reached an unspoken understanding and my BP went down. The doc came back in and wanted to know what was so funny because the nurse and I were laughing. She said "eye candy". As she was starting to leave she said to the doc you really got to start wearing underwear under those things. The laughing and sexual inuendos I think made my BP return to normal and I was finally allowed to be discharged. I guess we all got to put on our thinking caps about bright lights for Bill. I personally would leave the tree up if it makes Bill happy. Ok, time for bed. This was an odd comment session for me and sort of off and on subject. Didn't mean to make it weird. Haha. Be safe, be careful, and be happy! So says Woody over here in Southwestern Ohio.
i hope your holiday was a happy one! I hope Bill had some cheer as well.
Vic,
Yes, I did receive your package from Harry and David. That was very kind of you. My apologies, I thought I had already thanked you in a previous comment. You're very generous and kind.
Ron
Woody,
I loved your anecdote about your blood pressure "problem" while you were in the hospital! Not weird at all. Every now and then I get a really good looking doctor (my cardiologists is a very handsome man.). I couldn't help myself and mentioned to him once how handsome he was and I could tell he gets that comment all the time although he didn't seem big headed about it. He told me his brother was "in the movies". I asked him if he had a picture of his brother, which of course he did and viola! His brother was even handsomer than he was! What a good looking family. And to top everything off, he is a genuinely nice guy. I just got lucky with him being my cardionlgost. I only see him once a year now for an annual checkup but it is always a pleasant visit. He's one of those rare doctors that when he's with you he actually listens to you. He looks you right in the eye and seems to genuinely care. I've had he other doctors (mr former urologist) who barely had two minutes for me and never seems to hear what I had to say. Note that I said "former" urologists. I now have a urologist that I am very happy with.
Always feel free to share your stories with me Woody. Always interesting.
Have a happy new year!
Ron
Vic,
You had even more of a problem that I did with getting my own car. Even though I had my drivers license at sixteen years old (it was a mandatory high school course) I couldn't get my own car until I was twenty-one years of age because.....you guessed it.....my father would never sign the permission slip for me to buy a car on my own. I had to wait until I was twenty-one years old. Ironically I also had to wait until I was twenty-one years old to vote. Both I did when almost at the end of my three year stint in the Army. I was 21 November 9, 1962 and got out of the Army in January of 1963. Interesting, I was old enough to serve in the Army but not old enough to vote. "Old enough to die but not old enough to vote." They finally changed that law, which was so stupid. So many stupid laws on the books then and still many stupid laws on the books now. I would be interested in knowing why your father withheld permission for you especially since he was a driver's ed instructor in the Air Force. You father left halfway through your graduation ceremony? HA! Mine didn't even bother to come to either my high school graduation or basic training graduation. I didn't expect him to either so it wasn't a traumatic event for me. It was just the way he was and I expected it.
Ron
Spo,
My holiday wasn't as festive as yours but nice.....an quiet. Thank you for your good wishes. A very happy new year to you too!
Ron
Hello Ron,
In response to your question.
My father was an ass. He came from a world where children should be seen and not heard. I come from a very traumatic family. My father divorced my mother when I was finishing first grade and going into second grade for the first time. Once my father remarried, in my second year of second grade, the family was divided into two. You had "the boys" and my stepmother and father's children. They have a boy and a girl. And things went downhill after that. There were three boys, I am the middle, from the first marriage and we are a tad over a year apart.
To answer your question of why my father wouldn't teach me to drive and get a driver's license is summed up in one-word CONTROL. My father was all about control. He would say no just to say no. You would not believe how many times I went around him. It seemed the older we became the wider the divide. My father pulled us "boys" aside around middle school and said he did not care what we did BUT if it involved him or the family he would need to know. So we had carte blanche. I would never do anything after school hours-clubs and such-because I would have to have a discussion with my father and that was not going to happen. His picking us up from school after hours was not an option. My mother did not drive because of control as well. And she did not work. As the kids became older my mother started working. That was a big dust-up. My mom said rhetorically what was she going to do at home all day when the kids really didn't need her anymore. We were a self-sufficient bunch. My mom even went to a car dealership by our house and bought a car. She needed my father to sign the paperwork. My mom called the house and told my dad to come and sign. He wouldn't. My mom said to come sign or she would not be coming home. Let's just say the car was sitting in the driveway by dinner time.
The way our house is laid out my father would sit at a certain spot at the kitchen table and see everything. Like he was a king surveying his fiefdom. He would not miss a thing. Did you know growing up we were not allowed to go into the fridge. That was off-limits. Also, we were not allowed to use the phone. I remember one time in 9th grade I was running late to go and study with my study partner and I just picked up the phone and dialed him. My god you thought I stole something. I just looked at my father and said I didn't have time for this and left. Truth be told who would I call. It's not like I had lots of friends. I floated through childhood/school.
Yes, my father was in the Air Force for about 22 years. When we lived in Okinawa-1st time- his job had something to do with the airplanes. His other duty as assigned was to teach driver's ed and was over the school busses for the island. He told us if we got into any trouble on the bus he would kick us off like everybody else. Like that was going to happen. My father was very secretive about his life. We didn't know any of his family growing up. We had vague ideas of what he did in the Air Force. If you would ask he would respond why we wanted to know. He rarely filled out forms brought home from school. We wrote our own excuse slips for school and he would review and sign. We would sign our own field trip slips as well. As we got older my older brother would sign. He had my father's signature down pat.
I could write a book but there you have it. I am a 66-year-old man with childhood trauma.
I am glad you received the Christmas gift. It's the least I can do. I hope you enjoyed it. I did not receive your Christmas card. I was waiting for the mail to pick up again after Christmas.
Wishing you and Bill a Happy New Year!
Best of health,
Victor
XO
Vic,
I'm surprise you didn't receive my Christmas card to you. I sent it two weeks ago. You should have received it by now. Maybe I got your address wong. If so, it should be returned to me eventually. I'll let you know
Reading about your relationship with your father made me feel so sad. I thought my relationship with my father was bad, but nothing like yours. My father didn't really want children. He was basically a very selfish and ignorant man. Often cruel but he kept our family together. My Mother more so though, because my father quit working when he was 52 years old and my Mother was the main breadwinner. Your statement "I am a 66 year old man with childhood trauma." Same here, except I'm an 82 year old man with childhood trauma. Why are some men like our fathers were? I always feel resentment when I see movies about father son relationships that are close. We certainly didn't have that did we Vic? But we survived. There is something be said for that.
Ron
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