Well it was August again! September and school opening was close. I couldn�t wait for school. Then I would be with kids! I wasn�t allowed to run the neighborhood. Heaven forbid I got out of the grandparents view! Guess they knew what they were doing!. The only place I could go by myself was to my �Nina�s�,the Sokol Hall and Gasdaskas store. Sometime Bill Gaydos would stop by and take me for a ride in his car. Now that was a treat and sometimes we even got ice cream or a hot dog. There were not many people my grandparents trusted.
One night my Uncle Mike came up and he and pop sat under the cherry tree talking and having a beer. They talked for a long time and I couldn�t go out! Grammy and I sat on the front porch talking to neighbors and passerbys. .
Finally pop and Uncle Mike came on the porch! I loved my Uncle Mike ,not only was he my Uncle he was also my Godfather..
Then Unc told me. Tomorrow early in the morning he and Uncle John and his son Johnny would come and get me and we were going to the Poconos fishing. Fishing! OK by me. A ride ,the Poconos and Johnny to talk to. We were the best of friends. Why shouldn�t we be? We were born hours apart and in the same hospital. My Uncle Mike and Uncle John and my mother, had been friends for years . .
I went to bed as usual and all of a sudden it seemed, I was being awakened. It was still DARK outside. Grammy told me to dress and come to the kitchen for breakfast. I did and when I came to the kitchen pop wasn�t even there. �Where�s pop ?� �He�s coming just wait. Eat your oatmeal and drink your coffee� I did. No more questioning . Soon pop came in and he had coffee. Grammy was packing a brown bag. �What�s that for Grammy?� �For you!. Do you think you won�t get hungry today? Your going with men. They may forget to feed you or eat themselves!� I just looked at pop and he laughed!.
Soon I heard a car and the kitchen door opened and in walked Uncle Mike, Uncle John and Johnny. It was time to go. They all had some coffee and pop put my sweater on. .
I was so excited and didn�t even know about what! �Where�s Dorothy Unc?� �Ahh you know her. She doesn�t like fishing or worms.� I just laughed. Dottie was a real girly girl. Hated worms and slimy fish. Oh well her loss..
Grammy told Unc that she had packed a lunch for me ,and told him all she packed and that there was enough for all of the men also. Well they all laughed. Unc said �Mom, Edie packed a lunch too and so did John! I think we have more than enough food!�.
Finally we were in the car and as soon as we were out of Bethlehem , I fell asleep. Everything was dark . Never saw that before..
It seemed like we rode forever!. Finally the car stopped at the biggest lake I ever saw in my life! �Unc where are we?� �In the Poconos at a lake. The biggest lake in the World with the biggest fish!� ( the lake is 12,000 plus acres and was created by PPL a power co . a lot of land was flooded for this project). �Oh. Well I�m hungry� They all just laughed and asked when wasn�t I hungry?.
I got a piece of fruit and we walked down toward the lake. The bank was very steep and my leather soled shoes were not very good to walk in. I slipped and fell. Unc just laughed and said,� Well grass stain. Grammy will be mad.�I just looked at him. Johnny laughed and that made me mad!.
We baited our hooks and started to fish. After a few hours it got boring. So Johnny and I ran off toward a railroad track to see what trouble we could get into. We picked up pieces of coal and threw it at each other . I noticed the trunk of Unc�s car was open so I thought it would be nice to take some coal home for Pop. I started putting it in the trunk and Johnny hollered to the men . �Barbies putting coal in the trunk of the car!� Like he didn�t think it was also a good idea? Unc came running up and just laughed. I didn�t know about what, but I didn�t have a mirror to see how black I was from the coal . Well being who he was he put paper down and told me to keep the coal on it and not too much more or the car wouldn�t take us home..
Back down to the lake I went and got washed off courtesy of Unc. Into the water I walked and got washed off. Now where did he come up with that soap and wash cloth and towel? It seemed that Unc was prepared for everything. .
We walked back to the car and sat on a blanket that Uncle John had put down for us to eat lunch. Well between Grammy, Aunt Edie, and Aunt Aggie we had more food than we knew what to do with and cold soda . Grammy packed fruit,and cheese and homemade bread, some cold ham and boiled eggs. Aunt Edie made her famous �good luck� fishing sandwiches. ( leftover roast beef ground up with potatoes,and onions, and carrots from the roast) more fruit,cookies and cake. Aunt Aggie made sandwiches from cold cuts. Well we attacked the food as if we had never eaten and when our tummies were full,we cleaned up and went back to fishing. �I wish I had some cold milk Unca Mike� He just looked at me and laughed . �I knew you�d say that� He reached into the lake and pulled out a bottle of milk. Of course Grammy put it in a canning jar with a screw top lid. I was so happy..
Well not much time went buy and Uncle John dozed off. Then Uncle Mike looked sleepy and me, I was sleepy too. The next thing I knew I was being pulled out of the lake! Yep. I had fallen asleep on the bank ,sitting up and fell into the lake face first. Uncle John was the one who grabbed me first or was it Uncle Mike I don�t really know because all I heard was laughing and shouting and arms all around me. Of course Johnny thought it funny! But I caught a fish! Don�t ask. It was on my rod when Johnny pulled it out of the lake..
I was washed off , dried off and changed. Yep Grammy sent clean clothes for me from the skin out. Just in case, and just in case happened. .
We had something to eat and drink and Unc told me to go use natures �area� because we were starting for home. Needless to say I slept .
It seemed it took forever to get home but we were in time for dinner. Grammy must have cooked all day. Pop was happy with the coal I found. Grammy happy with the flowers I picked (wilted of course) and with the fish we caught. .
After feeding all of us , the Uncles and Johnny left. Grammy looked at me and asked how my day was.. I giggled and laughed and told her the story and she laughed with me. Pop just sat at the table and shook his head. �Well� he said. �Next time I go! Those boys don�t know how to take care of a tom boy like you , who falls asleep anywhere� Well Pop was right. I could sleep any where ..
We didn�t have what the kids have today but our families always found something to do and someplace different to go and see. And it was always family day at our house!We had some great adventures!
Next time , I have to tell you about the �secret place�.