Say Goodbye to a Piece of History!

They closed the Vale Rio Diner on Sunday. After 60 years, they just up and closed the doors to make way for a Walgreen’s. Do we really NEED a Walgreen’s? What historical value is there in Walgreen’s? Seriously…next year’s high school kids are all going to be asking – Hey! After the homecoming, wanna go hang out at Walgreen’s??

I don’t think so.

The Vale Rio was open 24/7/365. I think they closed a couple hours on Christmas. It has 2 halves – the front is a 1948 Paramount Diner. You know, the ones that look like air-stream trailers and have a few stools at the counter and booths with cracked upholstery and juke boxes at the window? The back is (was?) the dining room – traditional tables with 2-4 chairs where larger parties could dine. And dine we did. As a family. With the kids after the prom. At 1:30 AM after picking someone up at the airport. Just for shits and grins at 2 AM to get the best burger in Phoenixville. (Burger Royale, of course!) When we couldn’t think of someplace to eat. When we didn’t want to eat anywhere else. For breakfast on Saturday morning. Hell, for breakfast any time. And you wanted Alex to wait your table. He’s Egyptian and funny as hell. Has a knack for making everyone feel welcome. Even my shy daughter loved him!

I have pictures of friends in the Vale Rio when my girl-child was 2. I was meeting them in person for the first time after knowing them for a while on the internet, and “The Val” was the place to go. The girl-child ate lemons. Yep – picked ‘em outta the iced tea glasses and, totally unfazed, sucked the juice out of them without benefit of sugar. That’s my girly!

My son frequented the Val most often. The high school kids love it! After 2nd night of the 3 night runs of Fall Play and Spring Musical, the whole cast and a good number of the crew would descend upon the Val and enjoy a good meal and a post-mortem of the night’s performance. It was the place to go after dances, football games and any other school event that needed a little “more”. You never worried about them when they were there. You knew they were getting good food at a price that wouldn’t have them coming back to you asking for an advance on the week’s allowance. And you knew the staff would keep them in line. It was a family place like that.

Next to the Val is the Fountain Inn. Used to be called the Lazy Dog. Maybe it still is – we didn’t go there much. They’re closing, too – hello, Starbuck’s! C’mon, now…we have a coffee house in town, and a bakery/café as well. We do NOT need the commercialization of Starbuck’s. Hey, we even have McDonald’s, and their coffee’s not half bad now!

Anyhow, when they move the Val, it will sit on a lot at Nutt Road and Starr Street. They won’t be serving there for a while. There will be a borough meeting (whether it will occur in my lifetime remains to be seen) to discuss rezoning the property for restaurants. If it happens like anything else political, the diner will be another 60 years old by then.

It’s too bad, really. I’ll miss the place.

Weekend Recap

I spent Saturday sitting at a table at the Mid-Winter Scottish Irish Music Festival (at the Valley Forge Convention Center) listening to 45 minute acts of Scottish and Irish music for eight hours. OK, six. From 11 AM until 5 PM. I came away with a couple realizations.

1) Most bagpipe bands sound the same.
2) “Scotland the Brave” and “Amazing Grace” are the 2 songs that most bagpipe bands play really well, so they play them often.
3) Celtic Rock is really cool, but those 2 guys with digiree doos and a set of bagpipes just wasn’t my cup of tea.
4) Albannach KICKS ASS!! Too bad their CD’s are all sold out online. I’d do the digital download, but I’m not sure if you can play it in iTunes, and I’d hate to pay for something I can’t use. But DAMN, do I want their music in my collection!
5) My daughter is amazing and woe betide the young man who makes an inappropriate pass at her. She’ll likely break him in half.

My girl-child takes swordfighting classes. NOT fencing, swordfighting. We’re talking two-handed, cut someone’s arm off swordfighting. (www.livesteelfightacademy.com) She’s been doing it since she was 12.

She doesn’t use steel yet, as she’s not had enough years of training. But she’s something with wood!! I mentioned this schooling to the mother of a friend of mine and she asked if she should report me. I couldn’t tell if she were kidding or not. Needless to say she and I didn’t talk much more after that – I was kind of afraid of her.

My son used to take the classes, too. He was on the demo team and got to use live steel before he quit. He could slice a full gallon milk jug in half with one swipe one-handed. It was something to see. My niece still goes occasionally, but she’ll turn 18 this weekend and will have to change over to the adult classes. She'll probably give it up because her mom won’t pay for it anymore. Not that I blame her mom, since the child’s gone to maybe 1 of the past 5 classes. It gets expensive when that happens. My girly is still enamoured enough with it that she goes every week.

And then there are the events. Mid-Winter Scottish/Irish Music Festival in February, Celtic Fling in June (sometimes – sometimes they don’t do this one), and the Green Lane Scottish/Irish Festival in September. They also demonstrate at the Royer-Greaves School for the Blind, but I can't remember when. Green Lane is our favorite.

Right now, the school is offering a self-defense class for women. It’s currently open to members and their families only, but if it’s a success, it’s going to be offered to the public. I’ve learned a lot so far. My daughter takes it and my two nieces and their mom, too. Of the 12 people in class, 5 of us are Savoys. Pretty funny! Although after each week, I feel how old I am in the muscles that refuse to bend and stretch properly the next day.

So what did I do Sunday? Nothing. Beautiful, blessed nothing. We picked my son up from the bus station at 8 PM and the family went out to dinner, and that was it. He’d been in Boston for the weekend at Open House at the Art Institute of Boston, which is where he hopes to go to college. He stayed with relatives and had a great time. He’s been accepted to the Art Institute of Philadelphia, and just (barely on time) sent his app to Boston. We toured the school last summer, and he’s hell bent on going. I just hope we get the letter he wants to see soon. I’ll feel a lot better…then I’ll be sick wondering how we’re going to pay for it. But that’s another story for another time.

To Panda

We lost a hamster today.

Not lost as in - got loose and we can't find her.

Lost as in - she died.

She was a sweet thing. Her name was Panda because she was black and white. Cute as a button and active as all get out. She loved to climb the walls of her cage, and when she got too fat for the tubes, that was how she got from level to level in her cage. In later life, when she got OBESE (and I do mean OBESE), she stuck to the lower level, but she was still a cutie! She loved her yogie treats and never missed an opportunity to have a treat.

When she died (sometime overnight, I guess), she weighed about a pound. I know - I told you she was obese.

The girl-child took it well and has decided that we are done with hamsters. We've had several, and while they've been entertaining, she's right - we're finished. We have 4 cats, a dog, an African claw frog and a hermit crab. Oh - and 9 birds. 5 cages but 9 birds. Despite our loss, the ark is still full.

So I wish Panda safe journey on her way to the Rainbow Bridge. She was a joy and I'm happy she was part of our lives for so long. May the Goddess guide her true on her path.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

OK, so it’s snowing here. It’s nothing unusual; we live in the northeast, for Pete’s sake.

To go one better, per the weatherman on the local news, "North and west of the city." Which means we'll generally get more snow.

It’s not as common as in, say, New England. At least not in recent years. But it happens, and I don’t understand why the world comes to a screeching halt when it does.

My kids’ schools closed at 12:30 today, 2 hours early. Several of my clients sent their employees home early. The roads here are wet, nothing frozen yet, but it will be dark soon and there have been reports of a couple accidents on elevated highways. So I can see leaving a tinch early, but at 2 PM?!?

It’s 17 degrees outside, which makes it bloody cold. But it also makes for dry snow which doesn’t stick to much. The grass. Some rooftops. But not the roads. And it blows in the wind. Seriously. It shouldn’t be a big deal – at least not locally.

I’m sure the robins who’ve come home early (I saw about 100 of them in a field the other day) are REALLY pissed at the ones who decided it was warm enough to come back. They’re out there huddling together on the tree branches, trying not to shiver so they don’t fall off. As my daughter observed… “Dumbass birds.” Can you see the ones over there, just apart from the rest of the group? They were the planners. What seemed like a good idea at the time has gone horribly wrong, and now they're freezing their little birdie butts off away from the group because they've been shunned. Poor lil' things. It's not fair how quickly the group has turned against them. Fickle.

For now, I think I’m going to take advantage of my boss’ offer to leave early. Not because I’m afraid the roads are frozen, but simply because I don’t feel like working anymore today. So there.

After the Dance

OK, so she went to her first semi-formal and apparently, it was a wonderful evening. I wouldn’t know because my daughter tells stories about people with names like “Fruity” and “Number 10” and “my friend” and “my other friend” and “this guy” and his counterpart “that girl”so that I can’t tell who she’s talking about and choose the one I’ll torture her about (Girly has a BOYfriend…) for the next couple days.

She was beautiful, and I’ll have photos in a couple days. Why so long? Because I know how I am, and it’ll take 2 days just to get the camera upstairs and another day or two to download it. Yeah, that’s right – I’m a procrastinator of the first order. And I wonder where my son gets it from.

So Girly and her friend who lives 2 doors down from us got dressed together for the dance. It was a sight to behold. Everything fell together and my princess and her friend grudgingly posed for photos and she walked down the stairs (without falling) in her new heels (which can HARDLY be called heels!) and out to our neighbor’s car. I was on pick-up duty. It was sweet to hear her and her friend giggling and comparing notes about makeup (which mine doesn’t wear) and what they thought their friends might be wearing and who they may be dancing with.

At the end of the dance, a barefoot, hoarse, but exhilarated girly got into my car with her friend. And the recap/post mortem continued in carefully chosen phrases on the way home. “If Tess (the ONE person whose name she’ll use) was there, a lot of things that happened wouldn’t have happened,” I am told. “Really? Would that have been good or bad?” I ask. Because heaven knows, you know? “Not sure. But it would have been different!” OK, so I attempt to back out of my parking space without running over any of the other handsomely dressed middle schoolers trying to find their parents’ cars, and I ask if she danced with anyone. Even though I can’t see her, you can almost HEAR her eyes rolling. It went like this:

Her: YES, I danced with someone.
Me: Really? That’s GREAT! Who?
Her: I don’t remember.
Me: You danced with people you don’t remember? Must have been some dance!
Her: (Audibly rolling her eyes again.) MOM! Yes, I danced. With lots of people.
Me: Anyone in particular?
Her: I don’t remember.

That’s the girly’s standard line when she doesn’t want to impart information. “I don’t remember.” We had to discuss this because I liken that to lying. I’d rather she just TELL me that she doesn’t want to tell me than lie to me and say she doesn’t remember. Because she’s not deficient in the memory department. Truly.

ANYHOW…the neighbor’s daughter slept over and the two of them got on the phone to their friend who couldn’t be there because she and her mom were at odds and giggled and chatted through 40 minutes and the evening was declared a success all around.
If only it were that easy all the time.

Stolen from my Friend Paul

1. Do you have a college degree?
Yes

2. What was the amount of your last electric bill?
Over a hundred dollars...not sure exactly.

3. Do you have life insurance?
Yes.

4. How many hours per week do you work?
42.5

5. Have you ever attended a Toastmasters event?
No.

6. Favorite place to attend Happy Hour?
I don't do happy hour.

7. How many miles is your commute to work each day (one way)?
12 Miles

8. What time do you get up every morning for work?
6:30 unless the kids aren't home.

9. What is your definition of sleeping in late?
10 AM

10. Do you check your cholesterol on a yearly basis?
I do now - actually, every 3 months.

11. How large was your first cell phone?
About half the size of a standard paperback book.

12. Does your employer provide good health insurance?
I think so.

13. Did you use the internet to write a research paper?
We didn't have internet.

14. Have you attended a HS reunion?
Yep. One.

15. How many jobs have you held in your professional career?
5

16. Have you ever been fired or laid off from a job?
Yes. Twice.

17. What is your favorite drink?
Unsweetened Iced Tea

18. What is the most expensive bottle of wine that you have in your residence?
Less than $20.

19. Have you been divorced?
Yes.

20. How old were you when you stopped getting ID'd for Alcohol?
Over 30.

21. Favorite casino?
Don't have one.

22. Are you happier now than you were in high school?
About the same...except my senior year.

23 Did you ever have Hypercolor shirts?
Huh?

24. Do you remember when Michael Jackson was black and was attracted to older people?
Yes, actually.

25. Do you remember when MTV actually played music videos?
Yes, I was addicted to it!

26. Have you had a will made?
No, but I intend to soon.

27. What music was in your cd / cassette player when you were 16?
Hm...it was 1982. Styx, Supertramp, Journey, REO Speedwagon.

28. Favorite fancy / upscale restaurant?
Creed's Steakhouse

29. How long has it been since you attended a kegger?
Never did.

30. Where were you when you found out about 9-11?
At work. It was early in the day.

31. Do you have any children yet?
Yes, 2.

Her First Semi-Formal

OK, so it's all about the girl-child.

Heaven help me, I love her, but some days I wish I'd had 2 boys.

Yesterday, I get a phone call at work around 3 PM as usual. I am informed that the Valentine's semi-formal is on Friday. There's just a hint of something in her voice, and I KNOW she wants to go…sort of.

Me: Do you want to go to the semi-formal?
Her: Not really. Sorta. Well, yeah. Can I?
Me: Sure, why not? It's Friday from 7-9, right?
Her: Yeah, but Mom?
Me (dreading the next line, KNOWING what she's going to say): Yes?
Her: I don't have anything to wear.

Shoot me now. Or as I'm more famous for saying, stab me in the eye with a pen, because it's surely less painful than what's going to follow.

*sigh*

I ask about the lovely dress that's hanging on the back of my bedroom door, purchased for Confirmation, never worn because it made her feel "exposed." It has spaghetti straps and is square cut across the top of her bust, and it's adorable and she swore when we bought it that she loved it and I was the best mom ever and she couldn't wait to wear it. Til she tried it on at home the day before Confirmation. Another story for another time. That and the 2 pair of shoes she'll never wear.

"Mom, you KNOW I can't wear that – it's too big in the chest and it makes me feel exposed."OK, so I suggest dress shopping that very night. Would that work? Yes, it will, so we agree to go to the mall (how I HATE the mall!) and check out the young girls' dress shops. I shudder at the thought. I text my boy-child, her soon to be 18 year old brother, and tell him we're going, what we're going for, ask if he wants to come, but tell him to PLEASE say no. Contrary bastard that he can be, he says he'd LOVE to come. I can see it now. "You have too much booby hanging out, you can't wear that." "That's too short, boys will see your panties when you dance."

*sigh*

Actually, my daughter would never choose anything about which those comments could be made, so it shouldn't be as bad as I expect. So we all go, against my better judgment.

Deb Shoppe, here we come. 1 dress to the fitting room. Out she comes, looking very Teen Vogue. Discussion includes how she'll have to wear a tank or cami underneath so her boobs really don't show, considering how far down the slit goes. Like, almost to her waist. Her brother is right outside the fitting room and she won't let him see the dress. She kinda likes it, but she's not 100% sure. It has cap sleeves and a pleated skirt. It's cute, but I've found one I think she'll like better (and it's on sale to boot!). It's black with blue and white polka dots and a blue satin bow at the waist and a wide blue trim in the same fabric at the hem. She puts it on, and she loves it! I hold my breath…it's cut exactly like the one that she hates at home.

Her brother asks why must we be here if she's only going to buy something she already has, BUT - he (with surprise) tells her she looks "really good". I walk away and come back with a lace-edged shrug. She puts it on, talks about how she really likes it, look, with her hair flat-ironed and her key necklace, it's perfect! Son walks away - "call me when you're done here".

She's thrilled…and we walk out with our purchases. A total of less than $40...YAY ME!

Next, it's shoe shopping. You haven't seen anything until you've seen a tomboy in her first pair of heels. Actually, I lied...you haven't seen anything until you've seen an 18 year old boy showing his 13 year old sister how to walk in her first pair of heels! She can't walk with them on…and they're only about 1" high…a kitten pump that's absolutely adorable. She's putting the balls of her feet down first and looks like a newborn ostrich walking across the floor. Her brother tells her that she needs to walk heels first and keep her feet in line – think America's Next Top Model. She rolls her eyes and starts the model strut that makes her look like a teenage ho, placing one foot directly in front of the other. He looks at her and shakes his head. HELL NO. He proceeds to demonstrate - in hiking boots and cargo pants. She's laughing and tells him he should try it in heels...and heaven help me, I'm sure he would have if I hadn't stepped in. I am about to die of embarrassment. I'm laughing so hard, it's almost a Depends moment. My 2 are comparing struts in the center of Payless Shoe Store.

"Walk NORMALLY!"

She looks at me, blinks and begins her normal walk across the aisle. NOW she's got it!

Me: That's it, sweetie! You've got it. Do they feel ok?
Her: Yeah, but my toes are being squished.
Me: Try a bigger size.Her: I can't – my foot'll come out of the back of them.
Me (and the sales lady): Welcome to high heels…that's just how it is!
Her: It's OK – I LIKE them! I WANT them. And these clogs...Can I?

Chalk another one up for the mother/brother team…we now have the dress AND the shoes.

The last place we had to go was American Eagle Outfitters, and while she shopped, her brother and I sat on the couches in the back and ripped apart music videos. Do people really dance like that? Is this what today's youth is listening to? Oy...as my son confirms it all with disdain.

It takes my daughter 15 minutes to spend a little less than $80 worth of gift cards, and with that, we're off home…but not before seeing the waffle maker I'm going to try to convince Bill to buy me for Valentine's Day. It's half price…