Monday June 18 2007

I just found this third or "missing diary" of the three I have written here on PEI. It was in my brown business bag. Well not much written between then and now, but there are many audio recorded journals. I won't rehash the past. Today is a cool, breezy day. After a glorious "hot" sunny day yesterday. I went with Shel to her beach job at Chelton Beach. We argued like savages, but it was actually a good day. She works for Maggie of the "Steak Pit" here in Summerside, summers at the little canteen concession at the Chelton Beach Provincial Park. Its a cute job, as a college kids summer job. She makes hambergers and hot dogs, fries, chicken, ice cream, etc.

The beach is nice there and we made a deal I'll go with her a few times a week-not all the time so we don't get on each others nerves. I haven't been able to get the kids on the phone and no new email. Ill try again tomorrow.

Modern note:
The summer was really nice here on PEI in 2007. The times I went to volunteer at Chelton to cook at the canteen reminded me of jobs I had after high school. It was a lot of fun. We both got great tans, and had some quality time together. I had hoped to get back down south, but spent the whole summer on the island. Shel had just gotten back from Colorado, where she attended nephew Kelby Konig's high school graduation. She flew out of Manchester, NH and we had a nice but short little roadtrip back to the island. We ferried across Lake Champlain to Vermont and it was a lot like old times. I wish it could have been a longer trip, but Shel had to be back here for work.

Friday May 25 1979

Clear
72 degrees

Partly cloudy today with some evening showers. School was OK- it was a long week-I'm glad its Friday! Carol and I got gas somehow the mustang's door was dented. I think out in front of my house. Could have been kids. John (Gustafon) will fix it next week. Watched T.V. late, good programs- "Hot Rod", "Vanishing Point".


Modern note: This period is during the final full year of college for me. I changed my major from Biology pre-med to Geology as I fell in love with the subject, professors, fellow students (only about 15 total) and the field trips. I loved Biology, but there was a coldness to my fellow Bio students on their way to med school. All except one, my good friend Bea Beatrix H. White. She was a brilliant Quaker girl from Morton, Delaware County. She became a doctor and researcher and I lost touch with her around this time. We should have been a couple, but I was totally loyal to my childhood sweetheart and neighbour Carol Padden. We spent all of our free time then at car shows, working at John "Gus" Gustafson's auto body in Ottsville, PA, or cruising around. Most of my social life then involved the car show circuit, when I was a high level Shelby Club member and judge.

Sunday May 25 2008

Well the weekend that started out cold and very damp turned into a spectacular spring day today on the island. I put on shorts and a tee shirt and walked around town. It was filled with the smells of the gardeners and fresh cut lawns, and a few new blossoms. The tulips are up and some decorate my living room. Shel spent a lot of time here yesterday, at some food and was then off to do here weekend errands. She is submitting her excellent "Cathy the Clown" story to a Tucson writing contest. It is wonderful story based on fact. Shel befriended a bathroom attendant at a hi-end restaurant we used to frequent in Scottsdale. The lady was poor but very sweet, and volunteered at a children's hospital. The story is based on Shel's conversations with that special lady. It sure seems a long time since we were together in Arizona. Shel's blog, http://writervita.blogspot.com shows many Arizona photos and stories. It is sad she has left me out of the tale, as she has to keep her family from knowing that we are still close friends. The old German farmer thing-you break-up and you can't remain close. In many ways, Shel and I are closer than when we were always together. She is part of my family and shall remain so.

Very quiet Sunday as always. I was reading the parable of the feeding of the 5000 in the book of John. I love that one, and knowing that God can do anything in this troubled world is a great comfort to me. I heard from my old fishing buddy, my lonely old friend Philip Benjamin in Towanda. He was off to help his friend Carol, who is 85, cut grass. He really wants me to move back that way to go fishing. I told him I had decided to return to work and may stay here in the Maritimes, or maybe try Phoenix again. It becomes an issue of money at this point, as Joey is now quite concerned about college funds.

My contacts in New Brunswick said I may be able to remain on the island and still do some work there for them. It would probably be best to be in the office there during the week, which is very doable. I don't know much about the Phoenix position, and am supposed to meet there in about 2 weeks. I am sure that the correct choice will show itself. I really don't like the idea of permanently leaving the island, but that may change. Shel has been sweet, helpful, and very nice about the whole issue.

I would have loved to have made this a beach day, but its pretty chilly by the water. I spent some time in the little military memorial park by the house, in the warm sun. Kids were skipping stones bored at the little pond there. The pond needs some goldfish, which I may donate. I can hear the spring peepers in the evening here, in town. That sound is deeply stirring to me, with memories of springs long past. I often think that the sounds of the peepers, frogs, toads were the sound of spring long before there were any birds on this planet.

So a simple dinner tonight and I have some reading to catch up on, and there is usually a movie on Sunday evenings. It has gotten tough to find one here I haven't yet seen. They seem to repeat them. Erin Brockovich is on again. I did show that film to my environmental class at Gateway College. I really enjoyed teaching, and may return to it someday. I had a dream of creating a practical 2 year environmental degree in technology. That way, students could obtain real field skills and be certified to work in the industry with a two year degree. Maybe I can pursue that at some point.

Missing the kids, and as the time approaches to head home, I am thoughtful.