LOOKING BACK AND REMEMBERING
 

     As I looked out my window, it was dark outside and the rain was falling.  I stood there thinking about my life, past and present, wondering if years that have gone by were really “The Good Old Days”.  Had I miss something in my life or was I just feeling a little down?  As I turned, a book on the shelf caught my eye.  It seemed to have a lot of dust on it.  Could I really be that bad at cleaning my house?

     I took it to the kitchen, wiped it clean and headed back to place it on the shelf.  While walking down the dark hall, I opened to a random page and a picture caught my interest.  In the dim light, a face was looking back at me - a young face, one with a smile that seemed to say that this person knew something I didn’t know.  I sat in my favorite chair, turned on the light and started at the beginning of the book.  As I turned each page, pictures flooded my mind.  There were all kinds of pictures. There were people in groups and some by themselves.  Even the background locations were different.  The theme seemed simple enough, yet I had the feeling that at some point it would become more involved.  Everyone had that look that said, “I have a dream and a direction that will set me apart from all the others”.  Yet, a common connection was also there -   a connection that for all intent and purposes linked them together with a bond that could not be broken, not in a lifetime.  If I could just see everyone one more time, that would be great!  Unfortunately, some “kids” are now only pictures in my mind, my heart and my book.  Those will be the ones I miss the most.  Those will be the ones I can never forget.

    As I looked at some of the photos, I asked myself, “Is there anyone else doing what I’m doing?”  Are there others who are looking at a book like this one - like the one I have in my hands?  And if we had the ability to start life over again and be that young, would we do things differently?

    Of course, the answer was simple. I said, “Yes!”  Suddenly realized I would miss all those things I have done, the places I’ve been, not to mention the people I have met.  What about my wife and kids? Surely I would not want to miss that portion of my life.  And even before that time, there was the dawn of “Rock-n-Roll.  What a time that was!  As I turned and started my CD player and listened to some of those “OLDIES”, my mind drifted.  The school dances, sock-hops in the gym, school plays and sports came rushing back to me.  The pictures in the book seemed to blend with my thoughts.  What about the “Block Parties” down by city hall with the sound of the Epics playing Beach Boys hits in the background or Summertime down at the town pool with everyone who was important in my life near by. I wonder what should I have said to that little blonde who caught my heart in 7th grade.  Words seemed so hard to find at that age.

    Time has sure passed, quickly, not just from the “Good Old Days”, but just the time I have spent looking through the book in my lap.  It’s late and the hours have gone by quickly.  It’s time to put the book back on the shelf, only from now on; I’ll take it down a little more often.  It helps me remember those wonderful days and the people that are both gone and missed.

       After all, that bright RED cover with the two White stripes sure looks good when the dust isn’t covering it.

Randy

                       
 
          "Barb"                                "Bruce"                              "Phil"                               "Bogie" 
      Barbara Turrell                        Bruce Elavsky                       Philip Montagno                     William Bognar


                       

        "Wilbur"                          "Frenchy"                       "Drew"                        "Grimy"
       William Ward                    Donald  Mercereau                  Andrew  Dreeland                      John  Fischer


                       

          "Unny"                             "Craig"                          "Mary"                         "Pete"
     Thomas Edwards                    Craig Sheridan                   Mary Dee Bartolomei                    Peter Wenzel


                       

           "John"                             "Henry"                           "Ira"                                "Garner"
         John Phillips                        Henry Madoshi                       Ira McDonald                       Garner Johnson
        


                             

            "Mike"                            "Dennis"                        "Pat"                            "Ken"
     Michael Cassandra                     Dennis Fay                           Patricia Kitson                        Kenneth Ryan

          "Dave"                                  "Q"                 
        David Dietz                          James Quagliano