Growing up between Jefferson and Middletown (MD) made me who I am today. Yes, I live in Ohio, but I am a Fredneck! I drive a Ford pickup truck, I slow down when I see tractors, and still love driving in the country just to get a whiff of fresh manure. But you don't have to take my word for it. I still have scars from where I used to ride my bike down Cherry Lane and Poole Road when they were both still gravel roads. I still have dreams of walking into Arnetts Market, buying a pack of baseball cards, and being so happy and surprised to find out there were no cards inside, but instead a foldable poster of Brooks Robinson! I will never forget the Braddock Roller Rink, or Skatehaven! I remember the "get-togethers" on Shank Road. I remember when the new Fredericktowne Mall first opened, and spending all my spare time and change playing pinball games at the arcade next to the movie theaters. I remember the first pair of Levi's jeans I was able to get from Country Legend! I remember spending hours and hours at Waxie Maxie's, waiting to buy the newest music when it was first released! I remember playing Little League Baseball at the Amvets Field in Middletown (Go Indians!)
I remember going fishing just under a bridge on Sumantown Road, and a car drove over the bridge and threw a bag of newborn cats into the creek. Chris Remsburg and I still refer to that as going fishing for catfish. (Yes, we did rescue the cats, drove them to a vet ... 1 died right away, his family took 1 or 2 of them, and the others were given to other people). I remember very well the 24 hour skate-a-thons at Skatehaven to raise money for the Heart Association. I remember listening to Kemosabi Joe on the radio ... Z-104 (and before that, known as 14-ZYQ!) Also listened to Tommy (the Great Grundune) Grundwell on WFMD. I remember Kemo's legendary line at Skatehaven where he would welcome everyone to "Skaaaaaaatehaaaaaaaaaaven!" I remember Tommy Grundwell on the radio saying he would give away 4 free tickets to a tractor pull or something to the 10th caller, then playing a song, and about 45 seconds into the song, he would interrupt the song and scream into his microphone, "We have a winner, we have a winner, okay people, stop calling, we have a winner!" I remember the "Christmas Cash for Kids" when it was still broadcast from the center of Frederick Towne Mall.
I remember getting my first drivers license at a fire station behind the old minor league baseball stadium. I still remember the Jefferson Bicentennial celebrations in 1974. I am pretty sure that somewhere I still have one of the wooden nickles they used to give out back then. I remember, as a 10 year old, chasing little girls with garden snakes I would find in the drain underneath Route 340 in Jefferson. I remember shooting my younger sister in the butt with a bb gun! I remember having Mr Wasniewski as a teacher in 5th and 6th grades, then being so excited to find out he was transferring to the new Middletown Middle School when it first opened when I went into 7th grade! I remember a woman who was the vice principal of MMS (although I don't remember her name) who looked just like Daffy Duck. I remember getting into big trouble in 8th grade homeroom for sticking a thumbtac on Mr Hubbs' chair.
I remember Ron Brigerman and I sitting next to each other in Miss D'Angelo's English class and getting sent to the vice principal's office once a week!
I remember Fair Friday, when all schools were closed so we could all go to the Frederick County Fair! And the Jefferson and Middletown Carnivals! The smell of fresh country ham! I remember going to Ocean City for a week with Kenny Kotchenreuther during the summer after I graduated. I remember having Mr. Pritts as a principal at Valley Elementary, and all the paddlings I received from him. I remember the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, taking a 4 week cross country trip and seeing most of America! I remember in 7th grade, going to one of Sharon Guyton's parties, and having a crush on her for at least 2 or 3 more years! I remember thinking of her each night as I looked at the Farrah Fawcett poster on my bedroom wall! I remember the huge trouble I got into after that party, because Andy Billotti's mom was late in picking us up and taking us home, and I didn't think to call my Mom to tell her I'd be late.
I remember, before living on Cherry Lane, living in a trailer behind Sonny Holter's farm on Holter Road. I remember ice skating on the pond next to the trailer. I remember when I was old enough to drive, going to Gapland Road and putting my car in neutral to see if my car would really coast uphill. I remember sitting in Mr. Clark's office (our principal) our senior year, the fire alarm going off, and following him into the secretary's office and hitting the alarm panel because there had been so many false alarms. I remember someone walking into that office, whispering into his ear, and him screaming at everyone in the office to get the hell out of there immediately ... all because a classmate Tony Lewis had blown up the science lab performing a science experiment.
I remember my Kindergarden teacher, Mrs. Grove, and how much I loved nap time! I remember in 6th grade, our whole class going to Camp Greentop for a week to learn more about nature and science. Same thing in 8th grade, at Mar-Lu-Ridge! I remember telling my mom that a pair of my jeans were too short, and asking her to make them into shorts for me. I remember her cutting the wrong pair, and when she found out, she sewed the legs back on and forced me to wear them to school the next day ... those types of weird clothing weren't as normal as they are now, and peer ridicule was pretty rough back then! I remember going with my Father to several of the 1979 World Series Games, and feeling like I was at Disney World!
So with all these memories, why did I ever want to leave the Valley? Perhaps it started when I went on that cross country trip and got to see parts of the rest of America. Perhaps it happened when I went to Atlanta for a VICA club convention, then spent a week with my Dad in Atlanta, and saw how others lived. Perhaps it happened after I graduated and got sent to North Dakota in the Air Force. No matter where it started, sometime, somewhere, I began a craving to get out and explore. And that, I did. I moved to Georgia, and Florida, and Texas, and now, for the past ten years, Ohio. I have been searching most of my life for something, but not sure what. No matter how long I look, I'm not sure I'll ever find it. For a while, I thought it was simply warmer weather. Atlanta wasn't warm enough, so I moved to Florida. Florida was too humid, so I moved further North. I lived in Austin, Texas, and loved the weather, yet could never find my niche in that town. Outside of Maryland, I have found myself most comfortable in Ohio. But even now, after being gone so long, I find myself wanting to return to where I grew up and became who I am today.
Some people may say I am searching for God, but that's not it. I "found" God when I was in Georgia, or should I say, He found me. He was never lost, I was. But even as a Christian, I still find myself not liking myself a lot, much less finding others that liked me. When I was in Middletown, I thought not one person on earth would ever miss me if I was gone ... yet, I was wrong. It's just taken my almost 30 years to realize that.
Yes, I graduated high school nearly 30 years ago, as painful as that is to admit. In October, we will be holding our 30th class reunion. For the first time in my life, I look forward to, and plan on attending a class reunion. I don't have to worry about impressing others, or worrying about my "bald spot", because I now see that Andy Billotti has even less hair than me! Not only is Andy bald, but so is Ron Brigerman, and so is Chris Remsburg! And for that, I am extremely thankful!
My parents are getting older, and some of my former classmates are passing away. As each day passes now, I no longer wonder what else is out there, I wonder what it would be like to go HOME!
Don't get me wrong ... even if I wind up back in Maryland, which I am sure that one day I will, Ohio will always have an extremely large part of my heart! It was because of Ohio that I was able to stop running, and begin to start opening my eyes. It was because of special people in Ohio that were able to accept me, love me unconditionally, and help me realize what a jerk I've actually been most of my life! And Ohio, sweet Ohio ... a sports lovers dream come true! When I was still living in Texas, I made a list of pros and cons before deciding to make the move to Columbus. Couldn't think of many cons at all. One of the biggest pros was this ... Columbus has The Ohio State Buckeyes! Columbus is only 2 hours from Cleveland, 2 hours from Cincinatti, 3 hours from Indy and Detroit ... the fact that it is only 3 hours from Pittsburgh was able to be overlooked. Obviously, since I was in Texas at the time, Columbus being only 6 hours from the Valley was a huge plus as well! I could be much closer, without forcing myself back into a town that I still thought I might be considered a failure. What changed? Facebook. I signed up for my 1st Facebook account back in 2004. And since then, I have been reunited with former classmates that I haven't been in touch with since graduating high school. I now see that all my former female classmates are now more beautiful than ever! I see that all my former male classmates are fatter and balder! Knowing that I can now go to a class reunion and be the best looking guy there has done wonders for my self esteem!
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