Morley's Dog

Today I am having a rare bout of Johnstown-itis. It's not often that I really miss Johnstown- for the most part, well 99.9% part, I am glad that my road took me elsewhere. Not that I don't love it, in all it's strangeness, but I would of turned out to be a completely different person had I never left. Not so self-confident and open I suppose- Johnstown was not good for self-esteem.

Enough of that, though- I suppose this bout was brought about by last nights auctions (Stover's first- disappointing, then Angels- fun) and the constant litany of glassware: fenton, fostoria, westImoreland.... not the others last night, just those. We grew up visiting glass factories, and all of us still have relics of them- Suzy's milkglass, the apples, various odd pressed glass plates/compotes/goblets and my little glass birds. I remember one of the last times I was home we all (Mum and Daddy, Barbie, Grendel) went to the glass factor in Jennerstown (or Jeanette?)... We bought our pumpkin candy dishes there, and goblets- dark blue, green, pink. Grendel got to see how glass was made- the same tour I took countless times as a kid. Never grew tired of the beautiful glow of the glass, how it is formed and shaped and molded. Like all of us from that town, industrial but fragile, precious out of our range.

This got me thinking- I really want to see Johnstown again, show Charles all the relics of my past (though I know they are not the same, but still), take a zillion photos, ride the incline plane and have some raisin cookies. Gobs. A sub from Clark's (with hot peppers). See Morley's dog (he is a French bloodhound- and he looks like Bear! by the way- it's bear's "bear-thday" today- she is two) I've been dreaming about Coon Ridge road and Northfork Dam, the Easy grade and the arch to nowhere. The Ship on the Mountain (it's gone now), Storybook forrest, the mountains and endless railroad tracks winding down the valley.... anyhoo, I was thinking of the giant yardsale thing they used to have at Riverside in June, where the whole neighborhood from the river to the base of Eisenhower would be filled with tables of goodness. I was wondering if they still do that- had a little fantasy of going up home with the manz, hunting out fenton/fostoria/westmoreland to bring back to sell here. Up there it was like dimes- everywhere- down here they preen over ruby laced milkglass and would do flips over some of the more unusual stuff... I know the factories are long gone, but I am sure it turns up regular like in yardsales....even if it doesn't, it would be a good adventure and I could tell the manz endless stories about nothing much and coax him to try new food....

Today I should be focused and at work by now, instead I am noodling about, distant, dreamy. I feel weird (it's not just the nyquil and pamprin, though that is part of it) it is spring fever, a tiny cold, and just that urge that comes with Easter time to travel back to the land of hostage bunnies. (They decorate for Easter by tying inflatable bunnies to trees....but at least they decorate). I miss my Mum, I miss my Daddy, I miss walking with Grendel up to Oshea's for Easter pigs, licorice whips and ginger drops. I miss my sisters, (even Barbies insane passion for BBQ Lima beans), beer sold by the case, Grandview cemetery and the way the flower barn smells back in the green house (the one with the fountain). I miss the birds in the big cage at Greengate mall, Horseshoe curve, Auntie Lou's slips, Popop's yard, Granny Wrye's pigeon hole and the cuckoo clock with the bird with the plastic cherry in it's beak. I miss being little enough to play with buttons (in the golden shoebox) and pokerchips (in the metal box with angel's on the top). Lilacs, snowdrops, Headacher, Picken' Chicken and Bethco. Hunting Easter Eggs at the club. Summer time and going to sister Sue's house in Pittsburgh. All those things.

But I don't miss them in a bad way, or a sad way. Just nostalgic. My Johnstown is long gone- grown over with new faces, names, stories. Bits remain though, and I would like to visit them sometime- just to say hello.