George Trapp

I notice that , unlike me, several of you are old. This birthday cycle is 3/4 of a century. WOW, not sure I ever envisioned being this age. Comparitively, I'm still a " chippee "  with almost exactly 10 months to go until, Lord willing, I reach 75. I know at least two or three of us will not hit 75 until Feb 2021. Do we have classmates even younger than those ? Really these numbers are unimportant. Many of us are a far younger 75 than were our parents and grandparents. 

Out there among you are tennis players, pickle ballers, possibly some age group softball players, dancers, authors, and who knows what else.

Within the past few days I have roto tilled the small garden we will soon plant, fired up the chainsaw and begun cutting up the wood we will burn next winter, and this morning the log splitter on the bigger pieces.

So, what is the point ?  Is it not a blessing to be able to do things we are used to doing, enjoy doing, and need to do ?  The virus has cramped our style a bit for now ,but for most of us it is not the first circumstance to  temporarily alter our lifestyle. Yet here we are. My dad used to say " still able to sit up and take nourishment ."

Since I so often flap my jaw, you might wonder why no picture of me .  Simple answer is 132 HS pounds translates into 220 virus induced pounds. Not sure there is a camera with a lens of that wide an angle ! 

So right now I take the opportunity to wish you all a happy 75th, belatedly , today, or future.   Be safe, be well and be blessed from a fat old man.            George T

Barton Solow

Your so right, George...I too really enjoy working outside, using the chainsaw, turnin' the soil for new

life to pop up and laugh, then scratch my head, when the squirels figure out how they got to the bird feeders...here along the waterways, actually millions of blackbirds and such, fly migration that actually

darken the sky with thier numbers and beat out a rythmic quality of something of an ancient language...

Reckon we do these things because we are happy souls and can do them...Even at 102 years, my

Mom use to tell me, "Age is only numbers" and me now about to complete 75 years. How can that be as I'm only 21 for the 54th time !!!...So, I too wanna wish you and all my classmates a Happy Birthday;

passed, present and future...even thou you don't know me...perhaps someday, you might...

Barbara Barasch (Rosin)

 Hi,  I  remember you , Barton ..and wish you well. I'm responding to your wonderful description of the blackbirds' migration darkening the skies. You seem to enjoy the simple wonders of nature around you -what a treasure that is. I wonder where you live that you're able to see  all this. Best wishes , Bobby Barasch Rosin

George Trapp

Hey Bart ---- Great reply. My intent is to keep truckin until God either forces me into a chair or takes me out altogether. My hope is the latter and I anticipate a more fantastic future after that.

Jan and I love the birds and all manner of them visit the feeders. Not too long ago I began taking them in at night as we've had two visits from a bear in t he two previous years. Recovering and repairing feeders is not my fav duty.

Bobby B ..... You would love to sit in our yard and watch the birds. Maybe even more the whitetail deer. On any given evening there are between three and 17 eating in the side yard . We see lots of young bucks but rarely a mature good buck except during the rut. Then , on occasion, a dominant buck visits with his entire harem. There is a smaller buck of about 2 years now that is part albino and looks like a brown and white paint horse in marking.

In my mind you two are still 17. Iwas very shy, but always girl watching so I have no particular picture of you, Bart, in my mind. 

Searching backin memory, I think Bobby had real pretty auburn reddish hair which really set off a very attractive  teenage girl. The picture in my mind is of you, Bobby, in an autumn shade green sweater of the type girls back in the day favored. Lots of grad pix taken in black ones of that style. Is my memory accurate ?

We have foxes, raccoons, an occasional cayotes, and often can hear porcupines trilling in the trees at night. Often we hear the pileated woodpeckers hammering the trees. I,love the outdoors and used to love to hunt. These days I Just enjoy watching the birds and animals. Even when I hunted I saw some incredible things that deer were capable of. Lots of education I did not get at CHS.

You both be well, safe and be blessed, GT

Carole Grossman (Chasen)

I love mowing my lawn and doing all the yard work.  I have a question and hopefully someone in our class will get back to me.  I have a big tulip poplar tree around which I have a small area of mulch with hastas.  My question is, beyond that area I have no grass, haven't for years... Should I just enlarge the area of mulch and add lplants or get goose egg stones  and put them over the existing mulch and out around the tree (about 14' feet in diameter.  I am sure you are wondering why would I ask you, well, I have had several contradictory recommendations and am just confused as to how to proceed.  HELP, please.

Nathan Sklar

Ellen Karabell (Rugel)

Sorry, Nate, but a bunch of us won't be 74 until June: me, Arthur Cohen, Jessica Lobel are a couple I recall.  

Barton Solow

I have to get my yearbook out...can't communicate on that Classmate site...but, I'll be back !!!

George/Bobbie, I'm south of Christianna and a stones' throw from Christianna River...

George Trapp

Nate, Ellen and other "chippies" ,   You are really young by comparison. Did you all skip a grade somewhere along the school route?

Bobbi --- My brain was a bit slower than usual this am. In describing the sweater I couldn't come up with the color olive which is what I remember

I wish I had not been so very shy as a schoolboy. I certainly would have enjoyed getting to know you guys and girls better back in the day.

I  am currently having a 4 way conversation with Girts Perkons, Bob Cox, and Ed  Landau. We are swapping stories about kids we knew in all the classes surrounding us. lamenting the several lost to the Vietnam War, talking over shared memories of others who have passed, talking about sandlot sports in backyards and the Asbury Rd park/playground  down in our end of the Twp, teacher stories, etc. 

A couple of questions. Does anyone have info about Joan Trichon CHS 62 or her younger brother ? Her family patronized my dad's pharmacy. I think their dad passed suddenly when she was 9-10th grade.

Like everyone , there is much time right now as we cannot absorb ourselves in many of our usual persuits. The good news is that we are mostly healthy and not fighting the virus. Hang tough all.        George

George Trapp

Nate, Ellen and other "chippies" ,   You are really young by comparison. Did you all skip a grade somewhere along the school route?

Bobbi --- My brain was a bit slower than usual this am. In describing the sweater I couldn't come up with the color olive which is what I remember

I wish I had not been so very shy as a schoolboy. I certainly would have enjoyed getting to know you guys and girls better back in the day.

I  am currently having a 4 way conversation with Girts Perkons, Bob Cox, and Ed  Landau. We are swapping stories about kids we knew in all the classes surrounding us. lamenting the several lost to the Vietnam War, talking over shared memories of others who have passed, talking about sandlot sports in backyards and the Asbury Rd park/playground  down in our end of the Twp, teacher stories, etc. 

A couple of questions. Does anyone have info about Joan Trichon CHS 62 or her younger brother ? Her family patronized my dad's pharmacy. I think their dad passed suddenly when she was 9-10th grade.

Like everyone , there is much time right now as we cannot absorb ourselves in many of our usual persuits. The good news is that we are mostly healthy and not fighting the virus. Hang tough all.        George

Marilyn Ford (Evans)

Hello Classmates,

I find the one thing this Coronavirus has done while keeping us to shelter in place has gotten us up to do things we had only thought about, I my self have cleaned out closets, cut Hedges, organizes kitchen cabinets and worked in my Garage. For me in Texas we have had many days in 80 and 90. I am blessed and thankful that I to can still do all of these things. In my mine also I feel like 20 but half way through I know I am 75. Ha Ha   I  find myself smileing when I think of haveing  lived  3/4 of a Century. I know we are way over due for another Class Reunion. If anyone has heard from Tommy Israrl pass it on. Always glad to hear that so many are doing well and wish more of our classmates would join in on our Post. Take Care, Stay Safe,  and know we will get through this as we have in all the challenges we have been faced with in these pass 75 yeare.

Barton Solow

Good Morning All...

   I would like to thank you all for your recent posts...I find them to be refreshing to read as well as to respond...I don't have much to add, but I now realize I would have liked to get to have known you all better, then...anyway, don't be strangers...

Better late than never, huh ?.....

Gary Hoffman

Great to hear how all of you are doing including the success with replacement parts

3 months ago, I had a knee replacement and my sister-in-law sent me a tee shirt saying

RETIRED AND REBUILT

MADE WITH AFTERMARKET PARTS

Hopefully they were not knock off parts from China

Was scheduled to have a rotator cuff repaired in March and obviously that was postponed due to the virus.  Likely this will be done in May.

As we age, we are fortunate that so many parts can be replaced with modern medicine.

Take care and be well

I used to think that I was one of the youngest in the class since I turned 74 in February.   Now, I realize that there are a number from the class who are much younger (by months)

Gary

Sunny Ingber (Drohan)

Gary H, any idea where your sister-in-law got those TShirts? I think they are hilarious. I've been lucky....so far. My husband has 2 new hips. He lets nothing stop him. Tennis, biking and working on his Mustang. Really, there is nothing left to tinker. Oh now he wants new wheels. He does love cars. 
 

Carol G C, I am not a gardner. The only thing I have is a philodendron which I took a shoot off and rerooted. I have had that new off shoot now for 11years. The main plant went the way of of most of the plants I had. 
Now my two Orchids are now 3 years old. They just keep coming back. I think they like my lanai with a northern exposure. 
But if you need advise I have friends who know this stuff. I could post it to them. 
I am sure though whatever you decide, it will be fantastic. 

Gary Hoffman

She bought it from etsy.com 

Barton Solow

Sunny,

   You're husband has the right idea, by far !!!...the same reason I have tinkerd, played with and pamper my Eldorado sport coupe, since the assembly line in Lansing...she's the last of that American, personal, luxury breed...LQQKs, runs and smells like new...hope your husband keeps up his good work...

George Trapp

Gary ---- Hang tough ! Of 7 ortho surgeries ,the rotator repair was a complete bitch. Worse than knees , Achilles, neck, by far. When you get it done and can start therapy, pay attention, work hard and use the pain meds for that , if nothing else. Hard work and perseverance are the ticket to a great result !

Sunny, your husband has it right. Keeping on keeping on is the key to one's age just being a number and putting surgeries in the rear view mirror.

Bart and Sunny ----- Boys toys, cars and collector firearms , along with trains and antique toys are the mistresses of my $. Have owned 3 rocket ship cars, driven on a road course, am comfortable with speeds near 140. Would have gone faster still if I had confidence that the cars would not go airborne on me. Big engines need ground effects to stay down. These are a far cry from the muscle cars of our youth which were powerful big blocks but really deficient in handling and braking.

A question ----- Does anyone remember a girl in our class or maybe the 64 class whose family owned a gold colored Avanti ? One of the classes had a paper drive. This girl lent me that Avanti to go collect papers by myself. I didn't really mistreat it but I did give it some exercise on Cheltenham Hills Drive. Fastest and quickest machine I had driven to that point in life.

Blessings to all.      GT

George Trapp

That would be Chelten Hills drive. 

All of a sudden the first name Celia popped into mind in conjunction to that Avanti.  Any bells ringing ?     GT

Barton Solow

G,

   I lived One (1) door in at Chelten Hills Drive and Rodgers Rd. (8009), but don't seem to recall a Gold Avant, rollin' around...That Avant was a really nice machine, thou...

Gary Hoffman

Geroge

I had the left rotator cuff tear repaired about 10 years ago and it is the longest and hardest recovery.   This time it is the right.   I have a massive tear and with the delay, now it may be beyond repair and if so then I need a shoulder replacement.   

I am fortunately, so far on three replacement and this will be the 4th

Need to stay active both physically and mentally, otherwise the body and mind go straight down hill.   Make the most of each day.

I saw that you driving at 140 on a track.   Years ago, on the German autobon, I found that my eyes didn't focus enough when I went above 120 so that was my max out speed.   While I have a car that will do a lot more, I have not taken it to the track to try it out.

Stay safe and well

Gary

George Trapp

Gary ---- Good to hear from you !  Let us all know when that surgery finally gets scheduled again. I am going to put you on my prayer list. ---- As you know from reading the posts Janet H has done very well with the shoulder replacement. My rotator surgery held up well over the years but the cartilage is all gone off both articular surfaces so I have a pain regimen that I use exclusively when I play tennis. ---- But the rotator was the worst of any ortho surgery I've had, by a wide margin. You certainly validated that by your comment on your other shoulder rotator repair. 

I would certainly love the autobahn in the right vehicle. I have always loved speed . The difference now is I pick my spots. Not interested in putting others' lives at risk. My pet driving peeve is that it is impossible to leave safe distance ahead because some knucklehead fills it immediately. Then one ends up falling further and further back. 

On that zoo they call I - 95 a couple years back this moron in a bright blue Vette was weaving in and out with speed and hard breaking. Endangering everyone. Of course if there is an accident , even relatively minor, everyone is badly inconvenienced as traffic comes to a dead stop and then backs up for many miles. We all had the last laugh. When traffic finally thinned his total gain over me was 3 car lengths.

Have a fine afternoon Gary !          George T

Harriet (Nikki) Lang

Carole, with regard to your tulip poplar tree. One idea might be to put shade-loving azaleas on the inside around the tree and move the hostas to the shady outer edge. Azaleas are so showy in the spring. I love them down here in South Carolina when they do that around the big old oak trees dripping with spanish moss.

Regards the other ongoing conversation, I am quite happy to report that all my body parts are still my own. Did have two torn mesnici in my right knee about 8 years ago, but healed without treatment......that is to say by the time I was able to get an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, being a new patient, it didn't bother me any more. It used to swell up from time to time but I found that a regimen of glucosamine, chondroiten, and MSM along with tumeric 1000 mg per day seems to have kept the swelling at bay. So happy not to have to take such things as naprosyn or ibuprofen since they are beginning to get a very bad rep.

I'm glad to note that I'm not the only one that takes note of the idiots who weave in and out of traffic endangering everyone and ending up not making nearly the progess they expected. Must admit though with the idiots that insist on "cruising" in the left lane, that sometimes I am that idiot weaving in and out of traffic.

Gary Hoffman

Harriet and George:

I agree fully with you about drivers who weave in and out.   As braking systems have improved, many drivers ignore that there is still the delay due to reaction time.   A number of drivers believe that they can "stop on a dime" and are real hazards on the road.  And then if you leave a few car lengths, people will use it as an opening to cut you off.   Still remember the machine that we had in driver ed in high school that emphasized the time it takes to stop your car.

Harriet -- you are one of the fortunate ones with no replacement and hopefully will stay that way.

Hope to get the shoulder surgery mid May; our Florida governor just announce elective surgery can restart on May 11.   Fortunately, I will do my recovery in  our place in West Palm Beach since it is a one floor house.   We will delay going up to our place in Ventnor, NJ until July.

Take care and stay well

Gary

George Trapp

Harriet and Gary ---- yes , I do not hesitate to pass on the right when some moron will not get over. They create very dangerous rolling roadblocks if they get up beside another car but will not complete the pass. On interstates the traffic really piles up, people get impatient and on occasion there is a messy result. 

Another pet peeve is drivers who cannot or don't how to use a merge/acceleration lane to enter a highway. Down they go only to hit a complete stop before the merge. Go Figure !

Wish everyone was a perfect driver like me ------ Did I really say that?

Glad you have a date for that shoulder.        George

George Trapp

For those of you that pray.....Am requesting your prayers for Lois Ehrlich Scharfglass and husband Marty also. Marty has Lewy Body Dementia. Lois is his caregiver.

Having been in almost daily contact with Lois for about 3 years, it was unusual to go several days without same. 

Lois has suffered a stroke. She is presently unable to speak, and self described her mind as "mush". She was able to email ,not at the level I'm used to, but her mind is still there.

She has become one of my very best friends and I know she wants nothing more than God to have His way in her life.

Thank you for remembering Lois and Marty.                   George Trapp