BIRTHDAY EARTHQUAKE

Two weeks ago I went to the annual Bazaar at St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston.   It was a really nice time even though it was violently hot & crowded.  The traffic was so bad that even though I got there fifteen minutes after it started I was still forced to park around a quarter of a mile away.  I gave them my usual five dollars to buy some contest tickets.   I won a twenty five dollar gift certificate to a nice Italian restaurant in Forty Fort.   Last week was Pittston's annual Tomato Festival.  I went there for a little while one day too.  The guy whow was in charge of the San Cataldo Society's basket of cheer reminded me that he recognized me from last year.  We see each other over there every year.   A couple of days later my mother, Fran & I went there to check it out.  I got a falafel at the middle eastern food stand.  Fran got something too.  We took something home for my father.  We also got t~shirts as souvenirs.   Unfortunately for two nights in a row I got extremely violent headaches a while ago.   I'm still supposed to water those really nice flowers whenever it doesn't rain.  Lately, though, it seems to rain so frequently that I hardly ever bother even to think twice about them.   Yesterday was my nephew (& godson) Michael's twenty~third birthday.   Amazingly it was also, for most people I know, our very first ever experience with an earthquake.  Although it occurred somewhere over in Virginia, because it registered at 5.8 on the Richter scale it affected the entire eastern seaboard.   I happened to have been looking at my Facebook account at the time so I was able to get  reactions & comments from friends, relatives & former classmates & teachers of mine in many different parts of the country.   When it first happened the woman sitting right next to me made a comment about how maybe it was from the truck that was passing by.  We then realized, though, that that couldn't have been it because the building shook violently & it lasted for about ten seconds.   There are very many birthdays in August so happy day to all who qualify. 

HAIRCUT

Pittston's annual Tomato Festival is now under way. I made sure I showed up for the first day yesterday. One of the things I regularly get some chances for each year is the San Cataldo Society's basket of cheer. I'm such a regular with them by now that the guy I spoke to at their stand, Carmine, even recognized me from last year. Early in the morning, immediately after 8:00 Mass at St. Joseph's, Bob gave me some really nice big tomatoes from his garden. I wanted to make sure I got a really nice haircut so I could be ready for tomorrow's lay Carmelite meeting in Wilkes_Barre. We meet each third Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. at the Little Flower Manor on S. Meade Street. We are always looking for new members. Tomorrow Judy & Yvonne will be there for their annual visit. Recently when I drove over the bridge on Eighth Street I noticed that Rose Chairge has moved because of all the construction. I have no idea where she is so I went to a new place this morning in Exeter. I went to Gerald's Hair Fashions. It's the first time since I've been living here that I went someplace else. As a kid, though, I used to get my haircuts at other places around here. The lady who cut my hair was named Vicky. She did a really nice job. Fran got her new house so we're all really happy for her. Uncle Frankie showed up yesterday. There doesn't seem to be anything new with him lately.