11-23-2010, 11:48 PM
I, too, was in high school ... eleventh grade, I think. The same stuff ... a P.A. announcement, "May I have your attention please ..." Within a half-hour, classes were cancelled and we went home.
My brother and I were wondering what would happen next, but at the same time, we were excited! School normally let out at three. The banks close at three. But on this day, we were able to get to the bank before it closed and we each withdrew $50 from our savings accounts. We then had out Dad drive us to North Wayne, on the other side of the PRR four-track mine line heading west out of Philadelphia, to the home of this little old lady who was divesting herself of much of her belongings before moving to Arizona for her health. We handed her the $100 and she handed us the title to a pale green 1949 Ford Tudor Sedan. It had 36 thousand miles on it. She had only ever driven it to the Presbyterian Church on Sunday, the Acme Supermarket on Wednesdays, and the Lancaster County Farmers Market Satellite in our business district there in Wayne, PA, for fresh produce on Saturday. The speedometer needle had never seen the north side of thirty-five.
Looking back I suppose our actions and our excitement may have been somewhat disrespectful, I don't know. But for two young, car-crazy boys, access to money in the bank and the opportunity to acquire our first car almost overshadowed the seriousness of the day's happenings. To this day, I cannot think of one without thinking of the other.
My brother and I were wondering what would happen next, but at the same time, we were excited! School normally let out at three. The banks close at three. But on this day, we were able to get to the bank before it closed and we each withdrew $50 from our savings accounts. We then had out Dad drive us to North Wayne, on the other side of the PRR four-track mine line heading west out of Philadelphia, to the home of this little old lady who was divesting herself of much of her belongings before moving to Arizona for her health. We handed her the $100 and she handed us the title to a pale green 1949 Ford Tudor Sedan. It had 36 thousand miles on it. She had only ever driven it to the Presbyterian Church on Sunday, the Acme Supermarket on Wednesdays, and the Lancaster County Farmers Market Satellite in our business district there in Wayne, PA, for fresh produce on Saturday. The speedometer needle had never seen the north side of thirty-five.
Looking back I suppose our actions and our excitement may have been somewhat disrespectful, I don't know. But for two young, car-crazy boys, access to money in the bank and the opportunity to acquire our first car almost overshadowed the seriousness of the day's happenings. To this day, I cannot think of one without thinking of the other.
biL
Lehigh Susquehanna & WesternÂ
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
Lehigh Susquehanna & WesternÂ
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln