In the Way Back

This is biographical and hopefully not too boring. (Get out the blankies and hot cocoa for a nice nap.)

Well, I was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland before World War II. It broke out just before I started elementary school and my childhood memories are of wartime conditions such as strict food rationing and carrying a gas mask to school with me. I recall my mother making banana sandwiches when I was about 4 years old and then didn't see another banana until we hit the United States shores in 1947. But since I didn't know any better, the food I had was sufficient to me. We had little sugar as it was rationed but my aunts went blackberrying in summer and made jam. We always had fish for fish and chips. We picked edible seaweed (dulce, which was pronounced dulles) and chewed it for a snack and gathered what we refered to as "willicks" or winkles. These were tiny sea snails which were boiled and eaten with a pin. All in all, it wasn't a bad diet. My parents had a vegetable garden and my father installed a chicken run in our small back yard. We got along. We burned coal for heat - our house had a fireplace in every room including my bedrooom. I walked to the Belmont Church Road primary school where three grades (we called them forms) were taught. I had just started at the upper school when we left the country. I should note that in Southern Ireland, the Irish Republic, there was no food rationing. The government had declared neutrality and did not support Great Britain and the Allies. We managed to go there on a vacation once and had bacon and all the things we couldn't get up North.

We spent quite a bit of time at Donaghadee, a small seaside town, where some of my father's family had summer bungalows spread out along the Ballyvester Road. When bombing raids were expected in Belfast, most of the family descended on the bungalows to get out of town. My father had 10 brothers and sisters.so there could be quite a crowd. To a child, it was almost like a big party sometimes.  I loved walking the shore and going into town to the Royal Hotel or Grace Neil's Pub with my parents. Grace Neil's is said to be the oldest pub in Ireland and is still there to this day.

As to the war, we had an iron box as a dining table which served as a shelter in case a bomb fell on us. Fortunately, none ever did. The German planes mostly bombed the shipyards area. We lived in the suburbs of Belfast, a few miles out of the town center. We children played near bomb craters so they did get fairly close to our house. When the war ended, my parents booked passage as soon as possible on a converted troop ship going to America, where we joined my mother's sister.

I think in those wartime years, when I was growing up, I saw an Ireland which had reverted somewhat to an earlier age. Since petrol (gasoline) was strictly rationed, my father had to give up his car and take the bus to work. People used bicycles quite a bit - I rode mine several miles to the North
Road school. The delivery people used horse drawn carts if they couldn't get trucks, and farmers ploughed the fields with a team of horses. Normally, you would probably not have seen this in the environs of the industrialized city of Belfast. In spite of rationing and blackout curtains at night which plunged the streets into darkness, life went on and as a child, I took it all in stride, not knowing anything different. The air raid sirens went off mostly at night when I would have been at home. As far as I knew, everything was normal. Events were held, people went on holiday (vacation) my mother took me to auctions to look for furniture and she hired a cleaning woman who told fortunes in the tea leaves. I don't know what she told my mother. If she mentioned it, I have now forgotten. It must have been a good one because she lived happily to the age of ninety two. No one in my family was killed in the war except a cousin in America I had never met. I have gone back once to Ireland, in 1961. Maybe I will go one more time.

It's Electric

 We recently returned from a visit to the Thomas Edison historic site in West Orange, N.J. I was quite worn out afterwards after climbing up and down throughout a factory and then a Victorian mansion, but I enjoyed it. Looking at the old machines reminded me of my father who was a factory foreman. We didn't get into the chemistry lab as there already was a tour going, but did see where designs were drawn up and a museum exhibit of various items. There was a man running small motors to explain the difference between AC and DC power. Outside, strange noises reached us from the men recording sounds on wax cylinders to show how the first records were made. Then we took a shuttle bus to Edison's home, Glenmont, which was built in 1886 in what is known as the Queen Anne revival style and which proved to be very interesting as it was furnished with the original items and looked as though Mr. Edison would be home from the factory down below in the valley any minute. It was situated on the top of a hill and had wonderful breezes in spite of a day in the 90's. An elderly man sat in the garage and told visitors how Edison went on camping trips with a "convoy" of fifty vehicles. Rich people in the 1920's had quite a different lifestyle from today - not that I am well acquainted with lifestyles of the rich in the present day! I hope Zach enjoyed something of it all at 10 years of age. Maybe he will remember the tiger skin rugs in the parlors!
We were told that some actual Edison grand children (adults) might be present as they frequently turned up on Edison Day. Of course we don't know if we were rubbing shoulders with an Edison or not, but it led me to read up on the family a little. I discovered that Samuel Edison, Thomas's father, was born in Nova Scotia, as was Art's grandfather. They also had Loyalist origins, fleeing from New Jersey to Canada after being arrested during the Revolution. The Edison family eventually went back to the United States, where Thomas A. Edison was born in Ohio. He finally ended up back in New Jersey. What a good thing his ancestor didn't get hanged for his Loyalist sympathies! (Which almost happened, I believe.) We might not have had electric lights that worked - at least, as early as we did have them. And would Hollywood have existed? Edison pioneered the movie industry. This site is definitely worth a visit as there is much to explore. The friendly Park Rangers were very helpful. Also interesting to us were the surroundings of Glenmont. It is located in what is probably the first gated community in America, of 450 acres, along with another 173 estates, and contains its own park within a park. As we sat on an iron bench under a tree on the rolling lawns, viewing the house, I thought it would make a wonderful setting for a novel. Jane Austen would have loved it.

Everything changes

Well, the date is now May 19th and the weather is still cooler than normal - whatever normal is now. I used to think, when I was young, that Winter was cold and snowy, Spring fresh and wonderful, Summer warm and wonderful, Fall crisp and exhilarating and that was the way it was. Actually, at that time, it pretty much was that way. But of course, I was too young to have experienced change in all its forms, or to know that nothing ever stays the same. That's why it is so nice to be young and just accept your world as it is. No regrets for lost days of yore, and sadness for what will never be. What a waste of time that is! Anyway, getting older should make you realize that you'd better make the most of all you have. The train is speeding up but there's still a few stations to go. How did I get into a train metaphor? Must have slipped back into that past for a tick. When I think of trains I remember the one we used to take from Belfast to Donaghadee and I can smell the coke smoke which drifted back into the open windows from the puffing engine. Coke, in case you don't know, is a form of coal.
Anyway, the grass is very green from the cool weather and occasional rain. The flowers seem to be doing OK so far. The flowering trees also liked this weather. The magnolia managed to bloom without getting hit with a killing frost and therefore looked very good. Magnolia trees are living around here but would be better just a little farther South. Speaking of the South, we are watching John Jakes "North and South" on DVD. It is a marvellous epic spectacle and a great way to brush up on history. If I had a student who was supposed to read about the Civil War I would certainly tell him or her to watch this. Of course, it is a romantic story also, but it gives insight into how Americans were pitted against each other, often families who were related. I never had any instruction on the Civil War in school that I can remember,  and of course, arriving in the United States in 1947, I had no ancestors involved in it. All I can recall is the cotton gin, which I never really understood totally. My American schooling started pretty much in middle school. Before that I was supposed to remember which countries were pink on the World Map, and were part of the British Empire. As I say, everything changes.

Spring

Spring has once again arrived in New Jersey, more or less. It has been a cold Spring and it is now April 15th and the daffodils are really just out in force. Although nothing much seems to stop the daffodils - they come up through the snow if they have to. Such a beautiful flower with a wonderful scent, and with such strength, like some people. I read about the tribulations that some individuals have sometimes, and they would be enough to stop or slow down the average person, but these people are NOT average - they go above and beyond their own infirmities and obstacles - they rise above. I just read about a young man like this who co-founded an organization in New Brunswick called R.I.S.E.N. They want to help and mentor youth who are at risk and it comes from their own challenges in life. We should be thankful for them.
I always marvel at the daffodils when they appear. They seem more like wildflowers than true garden flowers, something very special and beautiful, a gift after the darkness of winter.I'm thankful for them, too.

Diners and such

We just visited the Flemington Diner. The opening was a momentous occasion in the community as our last diner burned down close to thirty years ago. We watched the burned out site for the reappearance or rejuvenation of the original diner but this never happened. Apparently, there was insurance fraud involved, so the site just deteriorated and eventually, years later, the land was sold and redeveloped into stores. The original diner was large and had a banquet room where various functions were held. It had a very popular feature: a large salad bar that had more than salad. It also offered hot dishes, and senior citizens would come in just for the "salad bar" at lunchtime and make it their main meal. I worked for a company which had weekly meetings there and when the diner burned, we ended up down the street at what my boss called "the greasy spoon." At that time, there were few restaurants that had the room for a company meeting. Over the years, there were other restaurants, but none was the classic diner with which we are familiar in New Jersey. Diners have evolved over the years from the original railroad dining car but usually the diner is a free standing building on a highway, which is open early and late and offers counter service and tables with basic types of American food such as burgers, hot dogs, soups, salads, entrees such as possibly pot roast and lunches with sandwiches and of course, desserts such as pies, cakes and rice puddings. Actually, there is much more, including breakfast, pancakes, sausages and eggs.

When we visited the new diner, there were a lot of senior citizens happily enjoying lunch. The diner is probably less expensive than than the other chain restaurants we have  here.  Actually, there is another restaurant not far away but it is in another town. It calls itself a diner but although it actually has a real railroad car attached (!) it is closer to a restaurant in ambiance with a wood burning fireplace and it also is a very popular place because the food is good and plain with early bird offerings.

All this doesn't really convey what a diner is. Maybe it is a restaurant that doesn't have any aspirations to be something more than it is. Just plain food in variety. Ours also has something that is in short supply around here - the Danish pastry. And a selection of fruit pies. That's enough to entice us in. That's OK.

La Florida

Beautiful Florida. How lucky we are to have a state like this in the USA. Housing is varied, from reasonable to multimillions. But everyone has access to gorgeous free beaches, waterways, lakes by the hundreds, and everywhere there is the beauty of flowers and palms and tropical plants. Leaving Disneyworld out of it, there is plenty to keep anyone busy. And the climate (leaving aside hurricanes and natural things no one can do much about) is very good. Winter is kind down here. Summer, not so much, but many people prefer it to the North anyway. It is a good state for older people and of course that makes it a cliche that is the butt of jokes and sneering comments. I say, let them sneer! I will be sitting on a lanai with my glass of wine, with the swaying palms and pines in view. Right now, just temporarily, but who knows, maybe much longer in future.

Mulling

Mulling over what I should write about next. I'd like to make it interesting if possible. Or at least lively enough to keep the reader awake. I'm now reading a book about button collectors. On the face of it, you wouldn't think this would be too exciting, but in the hands of a good writer, almost anything can be. The button collectors book is a mystery of course. Prior to that, I read a book about granite quarrying, also a mystery. A very good book, I might add, in spite of the subject. The author told you just enough about the operation and not too much. Too much about digging granite out of the ground would not be good at all. There was a great description of a boat chase up the North Carolina coast in it, so if I had stopped at the mention of granite, I might have missed that. And I do love boats. The title of this book is "Hiding Gladys " by Lee Mims. The button book is "Hot Button" by Kylie Logan. and I've just started it  so I can't report on it further. I have quite the collection of old buttons myself as I can never bring myself to throw them out. However, I'm sure none of them are the really old and unusual that I will be reading about, the true "collector" buttons. I'm already starting to get interested as someone has just mentioned a "moonglow" button. What a lovely name.  Maybe it is because it brings back the movie "Picnic" and the musical theme, a movie I saw when a teenager.