This morning when my Schwan delivery man came in, what was the discussion? Potholes! The winter of 2014 will go down in the history books. Our next challenge will be to fix these darn potholes.
‘I saw two crews patching them this morning. What good is pouring tar in 20 degree weather? Some of these holes are three feet wide and God only knows how deep. It’s dangerous to be swerving around or hitting them full force. You can lose a tire or knock out your front end,’ said Steve. He travels from Lancaster County to Allentown and says it’s the worse he has ever seen.
Avoiding the snow, the ice, and the holes during this long never ending winter, I found myself reviewing old scrapbooks filled with your stories and ‘On The Record’ columns dating back to just after the turn of the millennium, 2004.
I was teaching English at Reading Area Community College as the world gave birth to the year 2000 with all its predictions of computers crashing and worldwide energy failures. My students were all mystics as they wrote their predictions for a new millennium. Not everyone is so special as to live during the turning of a 1,000 years of history.
Reminiscing with the old papers there you were, just four years later, writing to me, speaking on the record. Who remembers?
Like the old fashioned talking over the fence or gathering at churches, coffee shops local pubs and fire halls, just plain every day folks talking about the times: your complaints, reflections, memories, hopes and dreams. It was all recorded right here in the pages of The Tri County Record.
Yes it was. When Wal-Mart was constructed amid controversy in May of 2004, you had a lot to say. And in June of 2004, Washington, D.C.’s World War II monument dedication inspired you to write about your families’ own war stories.
An entire class of student responses filled pages about ‘Are we fighting the 3rd World War,’ ‘The 8 Minute Date’ and ‘The Tattooing and Piercing of America,’ and you poured your humor out onto these pages.
So let’s get back to hearing your voices. Don’t be shy! This is your paper, this is your forum, your place to speak on the record! We need you. We are making history together.
With your input, we will be changing the format of the column to meet the exciting changes of your local areas’ media needs.
Please send me that photo of your win at the flower show or update me about the outcome for your special event. Stay in the loop.
It’s a dialogue. We can make history together! I’m listening on and off the record. Watch for a date coming soon when we can all get together in Morgantown; come prepared with all your new tales and ideas. You can see the old scrapbooks.
I’m waiting to hear all about those nasty potholes, and any other winter woes. Did you hear about the church roof that collapsed? Who has an update on that?
Email me at quaintancecarol@gmail.com or write to the editor at editor@tricountyrecord.com. Join us on Facebook where we can talk daily. Or mail letters to Carol Quaintance, 1375 Pershing Blvd., Box 301 Reading, Pa 19607.
We not only publish your stories and comments in the paper, we put them on our website www.berksmontnews.com and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCountyRecord.
