West Chester, Pennsylvania

Some places haunt the soul no matter where we send our thoughts to hide. Choices made long ago rise out of the soil and tarmac of a place to accuse us. Our decisions hold us bound to a place.

If the streets of West Chester, Pennsylvania, could speak, Walnut Street between Market and Minor would still whisper names I once knew.

“Loco, loco!” calls the voice of High Street in front of the big bank in the center of the block between Gay and Market. West Chester is one of the few towns in America where you can drive in High and cruise out Gay.

“Loco, loco!” cries Will Barnes, the Black voice selling The Daily Local News outside the bank. Except in those days he wasn’t Black or African-American or even a person of color. He was Colored or Negro.

“Loco, loco!”

To my best friend at that time, Bob Durkin, an Irish kid like me, Will Barnes’s cry brought fear. To me it was like the scary movies at the Harrison Theater on Gay Street that spring and summer of 1960, films too frightening not to worry a kid with imagination, but so bad they couldn’t help but make you laugh.

If Walnut Street could speak of that time, the blacktop would reach up like Will Barnes and cry its own “Loco, loco.”

One of the games we played that summer was called Love. Walnut Street still whispers, “Tommy McConnell loves Penny Durkin.”

“Loco, loco!”

Yet Walnut Street between Market and Minor murmurs in an even softer voice as though the words were somehow forbidden or that the whispering of them will return the horror that only the tarmac and I know.

“Loco, loco!”

THE BEGINNING

The story alluded to above is my novel Steel Pennies. If you want to know more about “the horror that only the tarmac and I know,” click here.

First Responders Are Our Heroes

Once again in a time of national disaster, the firefighters, police, and other emergency workers have stepped up as our heroes. In this case, the first responders in the path of Sandy’s destruction have shown the courage and fortitude to follow in the wake of Sandy’s fury to save lives.

While I live in the Chicago area today, I grew up in the Philadelphia area and began my career there. I know firsthand many of the places mentioned in the news. At one time or another, I’ve done business in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chester, Baltimore and Washington. I’ve enjoyed vacations and holidays on Long Beach Island, Ocean City, Wildwood and other Jersey shore locations. Most of the people I have known through my first thirty years of life are or were East Coasters. So for me, the first responders are more than heroes because they have responded in places close to my heart. And they have helped family members, friends, former classmates and old acquaintances.

Here’s how you can be a hero, too!
1. Thank a first responder. How about you? Who do you know on the East Coast who has benefited from a first responder? We owe these heroes our gratitude for services rendered in the most difficult of circumstances. They deserve our support. And the people of the East Coast deserve our support. Fortunately, FEMA is there to help along with the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other charitable organizations. I’m offering my thanks right now with this blog post. We can all thank the East Coast first responders through our postings on social media. It may not raise money, fix broken lives or restore a crushed business, but it will move hearts by showing we care. And while we’re being thankful, let’s include our own local first responders who serve in our community.

2. Volunteer. In the coming months, we can expect a repeat of the volunteer effort that followed Hurricane Katrina to cleanup New Orleans, except this time, it will be a call to cleanup and rebuild the East Coast. Volunteers from around the country will travel east to do what they can in the massive cleanup effort.  Obviously we all can’t get away from our jobs or other obligations, but those who can, should. Will you be among them? Will I?

3. Take an East Coast vacation next summer. If you are not able to volunteer your time to help in the cleanup, here is another suggestion. Next summer, the Jersey shore will reopen for the tourist season. By then, the boardwalks will be rebuilt and the attractions will reopen. Of course Atlantic City, with its bustling casinos, will be an obvious choice for many. But there are other places along the Jersey shore that are just right no matter who you are. For example, Ocean City was founded as a family-friendly Christian resort. Even today the town is dry and family-friendly. Wildwood is a delight for teens and  young adults. Each shore point has its own unique character and appeal. My suggestion is for you to invest your vacation budget on the East Coast next summer. If the shore isn’t your thing, how about the mountains of Pennsylvania? Or New England? Prefer an urban getaway? Choose an East Coast city. Let’s become the heroes who invigorate the East Coast recovery with our vacation dollars next summer.

And for your reading pleasure, may I suggest my new novel Hags where you’ll meet a different kind of hero. You may read a healthy chunk of Hags free by clicking on the book cover icon after you click over to the Kindle version on Amazon. Available for your Kindle reader by clicking here.  The paperback version is available by clicking here.

Don’t have a Kindle reader? Download the free version for your computer, tablet or smart phone from Amazon by clicking here.

Here’s another novel idea…
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