A Brush with Fame

We all agreed  this piece was one of the best Ken has written after he read it in class on Wednesday.   Coming from the marketing and advertising world, Ken was train to keep things brief and to the point so it was a challenge to give more details and expand the story.  Wonderful to see such progress in a residents accomplishment.

                              Meeting Robert James Waller

Sometime in the early 1990's my wife, Mary and I heard about a get-together that was going to be held at a small hotel in New York City with the author of  The Bridges of Madison County  Robert James Waller.  We were living in the city so it was easy to get to the hotel where the meeting was held.  I thought at first it as going to be a book signing, as his 1992 book was a big hit and a movie was made from it.  We both loved the book and couldn't wait to meet him.  Fortunately, the meeting turned out to be much more than a book signing.

The entrance to the hotel in Manhattan was somewhat underwhelming and the room for the meeting was even more so.  With seats for only 30 or 40, it was small, dark and low-ceilinged.  You had to call for reservations so I guess they knew that only a few  of us were coming, and they were right.  It was a cold, blustery night and I guess not too many folks wanted to venture out to meet an unknown author.

As far as I knew, this was his first book and while it was on the NYT bestseller list, some of the critics were rather harsh in their criticism of Waller's writing style.  Janet Maslin criticized the "vapidity of the material" in her overall praise of the movie, but the public loved the book and the movie.  As the audience started to arrive it seemed to be mad up of residents of Greenwich Village more than highbrows from the Upper East Side.  I really didn't know what to expect, but I probably expected more of a chic-flic audience than the Village folk.

Being one of the first there, we sat near the front on metal chairs 8 in a row with an aisle down the middle.  A hotel podium was on the left in front of us and a 15' movie screen took up the rest of the front of the room.  The rest of the audience were scattered among the remaining 5 or 6 rows behind us.  If I was Waller, I would have been disappointed in the turnout, but given the weather and the hotel I guess it was to be expected.

Around 8 pm he wandered in, tall, lanky and quiet.  A big man.  Raw-boned.  Not what I expected at all.  He wore a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, a dark shirt and dungarees with orange suspenders and a big cowboy belt buckle.  He carried a guitar and a Nikon F-2 camera.  He looked the part of the main character in his book, Robert Kincaid. He shook hands, shyly, as he moved to the front of the room.

He began to decribe himself.  He described his schooling and life prior to writing "Bridges."  Seems he was an academic and not one in the arts or literature fields.  He was a financial guy, of all things! But besides that, he was a photographer, and he showed us several of his photography projects. Now, I know a bit about amateur photography and he is good!  He then said he did a bit of guitar playing and composing and he played and sang several of his songs and they were great!  I bought a CD after the show and still play it regularly.  He told us how the CD got produced and it was a fascinating tale of talent and serendipity coming together to make a thing real beauty.

So here we were expecting to hear an author talk about writing his bestselling book and for the first house he just entertained us with his other talents.  I don't remember much about his talk about the book itself, but the scene he set with his manner and his clothes and his singing and pictures, left me with a memory that is as clear as yester day.  What a wonderful evening...

I've bought every one of his books and was never disappointed.

Ken Wright, January 8, 2018     

Descriptions of a snowy day at Plush Mills

We've had quite a bit of snow this winter and many of the residents have wonderful views of the hills surrounding Plush Mills.  Even though we are situated in the midst of a bustling suburbs wooded areas a parks are woven into the landscape providing a habitat for deer, fox, rabbit, and hawk. Joann is a great observer and recorder of the creatures that visit us. 

I had just come home yesterday from a shopping excursion at the Acme Market in Media, PA.  The scenery on the way and back was exceptionally beautiful on that sunlit day.

When I returned home to put away my groceries and other shopping items I had bought I ventured into my bedroom and looked out the window.  There were about 10 or 12 large animal footprints in the snow of the yard below.  I wondered what type of footprints they could have been.  Maybe a large dog walked into the yard or another kind of animal.  I call it the wonders of winter.

JoAnn Petrovitch

A long drive and a bottle of perfume

Ken described his grandfather as a quiet and unassuming man.  However, in his younger days he certainly knew how to pursue a romantic interest.


                               Alfred Jay meets Emma Dresher
Alfred Jay was my mother’s father. He met his wife in an unusual way. It all started when Emma Dresher, a wealthy, young woman from the small town of Ringtown in the coal region in central Pennsylvania, came to Philly to shop for her Easter finery.
She always shopped at Wanamaker’s - it was the best, she felt.

While shopping this day she discovered a perfume she particularly liked, but they were out-of-stock. She was a good customer, so the clerk said he would hold some for her when it came in.

Nearby was Grandpop Jay. He was a window dresser at Wanamaker’s at the time and he overheard the conversation about the perfume.
“I’ll bring it to you,” he said, walking up to Emma and the clerk.
“But it is miles away in Ringtown,” Emma said, smiling at him.
“That’s no problem,” Grandpop said. “I always wanted to see that part of the State.”

And he did. And they were married just one year later…

Ken Wright

Generosity from Generation to Generation

The following story from Eleanor is indicative of many of her family stories about people caring for others and helping beyond expectations.  

The year is 1967.  Sam, my husband, an engineer, is being driven to the New Delhi airport for his return trip to the USA after a stay in India to put into operation a chemical fertilizer plant his company built for the Indian government.  He and the cab driver, Paresh, engage in light conversation.  Sam expresses his desire to return home, as his third child is about to be born. Paresh relates that his wife, also, was expecting their first child.  Living in a remote area, and working in the city to support his wife, the taxi driver was hoping to return home for the big event of his first child's birth.  The similarities of their circumstances touch Sam, and upon arrival at the airport  he gives Paresh a sizable tip.  Paresh is thrilled and begins jumping up and down, for this enables him to return home for the big event.

Watching our new daughter, Lynn, grow up, we often thought of the child in India and how he or she fared.  Lynn was afforded the opportunity of attending the best colleges and launched a career of her own.

Shortly after her father's passing, Lynn was returning from a business trip and being driven to the airport.  The cab driver told her his wife in India was expecting their first child and he was working long hours to support her and to be able to return for the birth.  In that instant, Lynn felt her father's presence in that cab.  Needless to say, the tip was sizable.

Eleanor Bongiorno