Road trip

For some, a vacation means planning and preparing to explore some exotic region of the world. To me, vacation is to just get a way from the phone long enough to play with my family. So when my mom called me from her office and suggested a quick trip to Tennessee, I was in.

Her job was to find a place to stay, while my daughter and her friend offered to pack the snacks and the car. The plan was to leave from work and stop about half way for an overnight break, then continue to the Carolinas to pick up mom. We hit the road at noon, pausing once for a snack break. I should have know better than to let two teens pick out the treats. Gummy fish just will not do it on a long ride. So it was Domino’s pizza at the room for me.

go to column

The phone call

When I was a freshman at NYU two years ago, I skipped a boring writing class in the fall. I took a cab up to Lincoln Center and purchased one $65 ticket to see Steven Spielberg speak at an event called “An Evening with Steven Spielberg.”

It was, perhaps, the first time I didn’t feel guilty for not going to a class. And it was, for sure, the most I’d ever spent on a ticket—to anything. But I couldn’t resist.

On my 22nd birthday last week, I received many phone calls.

Most of them were expected: birthday wishes from my parents, family members, high school friends and even an ex-girlfriend. It had been a nice day. I tend to enjoy most of my birthdays.

go to column

Gathering

My sister, Amy, crawls across the grass, toward a cluster of wrapped gifts lying on the ground. Choosing one, she lifts it with a fiendish grin and crawls back to her place in the circle of family and friends seated among the trees. We are gathered for a festive afternoon of frivolity, fellowship and food at our annual Apple Fest.

At the moment, all of us, infant through elder, are playing the “Present Game,” and participants thieve one another’s collected cache of gag gifts. We practice acquiring and relinquishing as we retrieve mysterious packages, then have them taken from us. The game ends with the opportunity to share, as presents are evenly distributed to all.

go to column

The Town of Highland through a crystal ball

By ALLAN SCHADT

Two years ago I did an article for The River Reporter. It was entitled “Highland: A great place to live.” In that article I spoke about the coming of casinos, Bethel Wood, the Mountain Laurel Performing Arts Center, the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway and the proposed change of Route 17 to Interstate 86. As all of you know, nothing has changed. We are still talking about these same things.

Casinos are still being politically motivated. Alan Gerry’s project, Mountain Laurel, and Route 17 are all being worked on and the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway has been approved but hasn’t been utilized to its fullest yet.

go to column