In Passing

Today someone was talking Red Sox baseball, I believe it is "Spring  Training Fever" time.  Weather is gorgeous and yes, it is a day off for me. But the conversation jogged my memory of a former Red Sox player, one who I admired for his convictions.  This past December, a long-time Fred's News patron, quietly and peacefully passed away.  Walt Dropo, a quiet unassuming, but very much a large mass of a man, headed for his "Field of Dreams."  Walt played for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1950's and won the prestigious title, Rookie of the Year.  Although Walt lived in Moosup, Connecticut, he travelled through the little village of Baltic on his way to Pautipaug Country Club.  Walt was also an avid golfer.  His quiet nature was very much reflected in conversations with the man.  He never actually told you about himself, others always did: "Hey, see that guy over there, that's Walt Dropo!"  "You know that guy sitting over there every Sunday, that's Walt Dropo, he played for the Red Sox and was Rookie of the Year!"  Walt was very uncomfortable with this, although if a young person approached him seeking an autograph, he'd break into a wide smile and oblige.  This was a habit his brother George, disliked immensely.  George thought Walt should charge for the autograph, Walt declined saying, "I did it for the kid!" 

Both Walt and brother George were big University of Connecticut fans, both knew our youngest was   attending UCONN and in the running for Homecoming King in his senior year.  Had those two been allowed to vote or perhaps sway the vote...they would have.  Both equally excited, when Mark won the title.  We laughed as they told everyone that entered the restaurant, the results....but this WAS Walt.  He never talked  much of family, except about George, he did however, love a good argument...always thumbs up for the Red Sox and a very disgusting look if conversations turned to the Red Sox number one enemy, the New York Yankees.   Walt often looked at the sports memorabilia that hung on the walls of Fred's News, although he mentioned in passing, he knew many of the pictured players well, he rarely talked of his baseball days, preferring to keep conversations in the present.  A tough character to figure out, one never knew if his quiet nature was a message, "leave me alone" or was he basically a shy person.  Brother George's sudden and premature death only sent Walt into what appeared to be a deeper, darker sense of loneliness, we saw him less frequently, then not at all.  Such a sense of sadness, when we heard of his passing, wherever you are now Walt...."PLAY BALL! 

Fred's News...the Building

The old Victorian style building that housed Fred's News, was to say the least, odd shaped.  For those that never actually stepped inside the building, it appeared somewhat normal, from the front, with two beautiful bay type windows on the second level,  one dormer, complete with small arched cathedral type windows on the upper level and of course the huge plate glass "Paris Window".  If you actually stood outside and admired the building, you'd notice the old-fashioned dental work adorning the roof line.  At one time, in the earlier part of the twentieth century, scalloped wood shingles also adorned the upper levels.  If one used the stairway on the front sidewalk,  leading to the second floor, you could actual see  how much the old building had settled.  Although we used it mostly for storage, climbing up and down those stairs wreaked havoc with your equilibrium.  In the catacombs of the basement the old flat stone foundation must of groaned a few times over the years, as the building settled into its current position.  Much like the slumping posture of old age....Fred's News, now empty, still sits on the sidewalk, her glory years, now passed, but if you stop, close your eyes and listen, sweets sounds of the wonderful happy memories, might still be heard.

Inside of Fred's News has changed a number of times over the years, but the four boxed in lolly columns, supporting the weight of the upper levels, still stand solid.  Although there was a time one could actually see the metal  columns, Mr. Bill boxed them in with pine board, giving a much cozier look to the spacious room.
The stool closest to the pole, was a very popular stool.  Depending on which side of the pole you sat, you could remain undetected,  as patrons entered the restaurant.  Three stoosl were beyond this pole, with the one closest to the pole,"the best".  By the number of times we painted the pole during our twenty-plus year reign, you understood what a great back rest it actually was.  In the early morning hours, Bill and I would sometimes have our first cup of coffee and read the newspaper, hidden from those who might want a much too early coffee or muffin.  Those that knew our secret, would sneak in the back door!  Whether it was long time friends Dave and Doug, or the farm boys in desperate need of food, Mr. Bill and I always obliged, the paper could be read later in the day.  Mr. Bill always said...."I like to read the daily newspaper before someone drops their drink or egg yolks all over it!"  Most times I take another paper from the rack and save it for later, unless someone came in "Oh man, no more papers, that's a bugger!"   was the usual complaint.  "Not a problem, I just happen to have one more!"  I would cheerfully reply......."Mr. Bill will just have to read through the smudge marks!" 

Depending on the time of day, that same stool served as a haven for many.  For Johann, the Nephew....Great, who at times, wore a long coat similar to Clint Eastwood's garb in those  "spaghetti western" days, it was a place to sit and pet Fred the Dog, who just might have slithered through the back entrance undetected. He would snuggle up to Johann's "High Plains Drifter" coat and let him scratch the hell out of his neck.  Problem is, sometimes Fred would emerge as greasy and grimy as Johann himself.   Other times, the seat would be occupied by the students from the Academy of the Holy Family, this position allowed them to consume numerous cigarettes, smoke being drawn out the back door, yet, if one of the good Sisters came in the front, they'd remain undetected.  Evenings at Fred's News was a whole different crowd, yet they were all regulars.  Much like stopping home at the local bar, they'd stop in for a late coffee, sometimes a meal but mostly a dessert.  Ward would sit down the end, listening to the evening news or some sports program with Mr. Bill.  He'd be helping with the closing procedures, emptying partial bottles of ketchup, laughing and joking with the cleaning crew.   For many Fred's News was home away from home, life's problems were shared and sometimes eased by the camaraderie of it's patrons.   It was....A Constant Place!

Fred's News...The Days of Our Lives!

Recently Roy Hoffman asked,  would I write something along the lines of,  "A day in the Life of Fred's News."  For the past sixty or so minutes, thoughts have swirled through my mind........yet nothing appears or screams, "start typing."  Mrs. G. once asked me, "Where do you get these stories from, I know they are real, but how do you decide what to write?"  I dunno!! Isn't that a literary leap of faith, certainly not proper English nor anything close to a perfect sentence, but simple put.....I do not know!  These thoughts, at times strange, funny, poignant and a tad bit quirky are me.  As we've often been told , opposites attract, true, but one also needs to understand, that my soul mate ( how sixty-ish) and loving husband, Mr. Bill, also possesses many of these same strange, funny, poignant and quirky traits, just as I do.  For those of you that shudder upon hearing this revelation, his strange, funny, poignant and quirky traits go off into a different direction than mine, this is "the opposites attract" thing.  To fully understand  what "A Day in the Life of Fred's News" is, you have understand there was a time it was "A Day in the Life of Dee (Diane) and Bill.

If it is a minute by minute or hour by hour thing, I find that ever so boring.  Up at two fifty in the morning, in bed ...sometime before two fifty the next morning, everything else fit in at various times throughout the day.  There were however, some constants...muffins, bagels, pies, cooking potatoes, peeling potatoes, cutting potatoes for those ever so yummy, home fries.  Oh yes, don't forget, the eye-opening, taste bud pleasing, first cups of coffee or those thirst quenching, icy cold glasses of the best-ever iced tea.  Snuggled in the back of Fred's News, the old Coca-Cola cooler, standing guard, beckoning all who arrived...OMG ever so cold, little glass bottles of Coke.  Bottles that still had caps that pried off, something many of the youngsters never heard of.  It took beautiful Hee-Jung a number of tries to teach a few young patrons how to open a bottle cap.  After their first attempt, a complete failure...."Give me that bottle, I'm only going to show you one more time!" she mused.  How many young children wanted to collect those old pried off bottle caps!!

In the earlier years of Fred's News, one could press their faces up against the all glass candy counter and have their little brown paper bag filled to the brim with penny candy....when it was actually a penny.  Candy cigarettes, wax teeth, Bazooka bubble gum, Tootsie Roll Pops, root bear barrels, Mary Janes, Bit-O-Honey, Fireballs, Non-pariels...OMG cavities galore, but very much a part of Fred's News.  Perhaps of candy wasn't your game...pin-ball, was!  Jeff Freeman, pretty much the champ on those games.  Maybe you'd just stop by to be with friends and listen to the latest songs on the Jukebox, shades of Happy Days...but very much a part of Fred's News.   Sounds like the old guys are talking politics, shut up or put your money where your mouth is....get the dice, loser owes everybody a coffee or iced tea., all very much a part of Fred's News.

Perhaps, Lu and Jim just needed some comfort after loosing faithful friends, their Black Labs, all within such a short span of time.  Maybe, Fred's News was the place to meet after the sudden death of old Fred LaLiberte, one of  "the Brothers".  It was a time where instant healing began, one could cry tears of grief, yet laugh through those tears, when hearing all those "Fred stories."  The fierce loyalties of the patrons, how they gathered, to protect, never ceased to amaze, were all very much a part of Fred's News.

Even when patrons themselves couldn't be there, if there was a need for Fred's to know, they'd call, just to alert, "Gather all, meet at Fred's...we will all be okay...we are here together.  Remembering just such a phone call, from Richie Oatley, too sick to join his friends..."Dee, turn on the TV, quickly, it is so sad and unbelievable", 9-11, was just beginning.  I do remember that day, people filled the little place, no one spoke, all eyes glued to the old TV.......yet they all found a certain comfort, support and closeness to each other, as they quietly watched.  Occasionally, a cell phone would ring, updates from family far away.  What truly amazed me that day, how many people called for reassurance...the world changed, but it was all very much a part of Fred's News.   With each phone call, people would ask, "who was that, are they okay?"  Son Mark called, he lived in Florida, no family near......"OMG Mom, is the TV on, did you hear...it's crazy down here, Air Force planes all over the place...We (meaning Disney) are closing the parks, sending people back to the hotels.  Is everyone at the restaurant, waiting and watching?"  I am okay Mom, we will talk soon.  This was all very much a part of Fred's News.

One morning Fred, from Nutmeg Wire, along with Hogan, Al and many of the early morning regulars, arguing over the fate of the abandoned Baltic Mills.  Nutmeg Wire located right in front of the old structure...In passing Fred makes the statement "Something has got to be done or it will go the way of many old abandoned mills...someone will torch it!"  Less than four hours later, the skies thick with black smoke and flames....a piece of history, gone.  "OMG!"  amazed, Fred then says..."for the record, I ONLY made the statement!"  Yes for the record, this was all very much a part of Fred's News, much in same way, blizzard warnings, natural disasters, accidents, deaths, births, Town celebrations, political caucuses, old friends meeting, family gatherings, and oh yes, did I mention...outstanding, absolutely scrumptious food, all brought to you by two strange, funny, poignant and sometimes quirky people, their absolutely wonderful sons, and many strange, funny, poignant and sometimes quirky friends.

Do Dreams Come True..Sometimes!

Dreams......can we make them happen, is our mind able to reproduce the same dream in full or part, over and over again, absolutely or at least in my mind and if you listen to Mr. Bill's wacky subconscious world..that's an affirmative!

Over the years, listening to many of our patrons, especially those who frequented the place in the wee hours of the morning, there were many vivid imaginations, they just didn't realize it.  This morning as I readied myself for a long day at that Magical Place, Mr. Bill awakens...laughing, his dream still very much a part of his memory.  Quickly before it rides off into his still sleepy subconscious, he explains:  "I was riding a horse, a big ass horse!" he muses. "Where?" I question.  "Ya know, I haven't got a clue, but it was a big ass horse, who kept telling me, "Would you please sit the right way, you're killing my back."  OMG...the effects of all the drugs is taking its toll.  A big ass horse that talks...nice!  As he continued, it came to light the horse was, old and wise.  I'm not quite sure why Mr. Bill figures the horse was wise....in my mind, also on the strange side, the one statement this big ass horse has uttered, "would you please sit the right way, you're killing my back" is not exactly of the profound variety...nope not even close.  In my book that is one dumb big-ass horse, who I might add, also has a long neck!  This dream is coming at me in bits and pieces and Mr. Bill is dead-ass serious.  I think he must of been subconsciously thinking about our early evening conversation, involving former patron and Alpaca farm owner Linda Adelman.  Two things come to mind.....he must of envisioned a long neck on the Alpaca...which he probably was visualizing a Llama instead.  As for the big-ass horse...who knows.

Many years ago, long time patrons, Phyllis and Henry Cardin, now both deceased, were sipping their coffee on a snowy winter morning.  Phyllis having just celebrated her fiftieth birthday was sharing some of the party highlights and gifts received at the half century celebration.  One of the presents.... a box of Depends, for "elderly incontinence".  Mr. Bill now laughs...after his surgery they would of come in handy for a few days!!
Phyllis also joked about a dream she had in earlier years...... While being in that la-la land place, she felt totally relaxed, admitting it must of been "deep sleep".  Poor Phyllis dreamt she was in her bathroom relieving herself...yep...wet the bed she did! Laughing she said "where the hell were the Depends when she actually needed them...Mr. Bill snickering...."I've had a dream very similar...yep...another bed wetter!  Credit given, where credit is due, those two probably the only ones in Fred's News that day, that would admit such a dastardly deed! 

Wild Weather Memories

Okay so, is this weird weather the beginning of the end, 2012. Yesterday, a chilly start, but temps reached the mid seventies, this morning, a balmy sixty three degrees.  Actually, today was again mid seventies but the windy tropical afternoon has turned into a very wild weathered evening.  Intense thunder, lightning and tornadoes all over the place, and dear God, rain, sheets at a time.  Did I say the ponds at the golf course were drying up....how silly, you have to avoid the ones along he roadway, they have, in a matter of thirty minutes, overflowed their banks,  spilling out into the road creating ponds that seem to go forever.  Much to my amazement, none of the palms uprooted.  The winds howled up to sixty-five miles an hour, bending them  over much like an arch, catapulting anything that was loosely attached on the tops.  Most people have just spent close to a hundred bucks having their elegant palms, trimmed.  All they had to do is wait.....the wind has scatter wilted and dead palm fronds from one end of the community to the other.

Mr. Bill called me as I was heading home, "hurry the storms are moving fast, they are close to Mrs. G's home on the west coast."   Sorry Mr. Bill, the rains are already hitting Orlando.  As I arrived home he was sitting outside, waiting for me.  The Egg-Nazi, not a fan of thunder storms, as for me, I enjoy watching the skies.  He used to say he felt very safe inside Fred's News, with two floors above the place...of course he felt safe!  Him and Fred the Dog would comfort each other through storms, so much so, I believe they were attached at the hip.  Fred the Dog always able to predict the impending storms, usually within fifteen minutes of it's arrival.   If it should happen overnight, he'd try to jump on the bed, letting Mr. Bill know, it's time to "shake in our booties" together.

For Fred the Dog, spending his days, outside on the back dock, or perhaps strolling up and down the driveway welcoming patrons, was a way of life.  He was like the little Fred's News beacon, sort of a "welcome-wagon".  If you parked outside in the driveway, petting Fred the Dog was part of the ritual as you entered the restaurant.   One particularly hot, humid afternoon, nasty thunder storms developed, people ran for cover, thunder, so loud, with blinding flashes of lightning.  Everyone running into the place when Mr. Bill hollers, "OMG...Fred the Dog is still outside in the back!"  Heading out on to the porch,"Fred, come here boy where are you?" they all hollered...but no bouncing, happy Fred the Dog appeared.  "Where the hell is he" questions the Egg Nazi.  As he turns to come back into the restaurant, he hears scratching at the front door, followed by a series or short little barks......Fred the Dog had slithered along the building, onto the front sidewalk and was pressing his water logged collie fur in to the front door.  That poor boy stood there, shaking, looking so pitiful, hair totally matted to his slim body.  Mr. Bill hurried to the door, letting in the poor and shaking pitiful pup.  All the while he dried Fred off, that dog would  not look at him.  Slightly ticked off his best friend left him to fend for himself......Mr. Bill was on his pooh-pooh list.     

Life Away From Home

Although today is usually one of my days off, I chose to voluntee,r welcoming in approximately 500 of the almost 10,000 Disney College Program people, that will spend at least one semester as a Disney Cast Member.  My role today: setting up each new Cast Member with either Direct Deposit or a Check Card.  No big thing but very rewarding, with some travelling from the far reaches of the globe, just for the opportunity to work at Disney.  Some ready to conquer, some......not so much, scared, homesick and for many, their first time away from home.  Within the next two or three weeks, the majority will be seasoned Disney Cast Members

What today conjured up in my all too active mind....new students arriving at the Sisters of Charity, Holy Family Mother House....also known as the Academy of the Holy Family...all girls boarding school.  During the last week of August and the first week of September, many young ladies, high school age, arrive at this school, they too come from around the world, some scared, it may also be their first time away from home.  Others....oh...not so much, this group being the seasoned boarding school gang,  many are children of their respective country's diplomats, others, problem "rich kids", badly in need of the restrictive hand of the good Sisters of Charity, the last group.......well bred, well to do offspring, whose parents want them to receive the very best Christian education possible.  Mix these groups together, adding a touch of local student flavor and the results........a unique, somewhat seasoned melting pot, all waiting and wanting to learn....particularly from each other.

As these young ladies checked into their dorms, listening to rules and regulations set forth by the Sisters, they soon learned walking to the local Post Office, convenience store or Fred's News, was only allowed during "free time", with all other activities highly monitored, by as one of the young ladies announced in Fred's News, "our captors."   In defense of the Nuns........all the credit, strength, devotion, down right fortitude and "heavenly intervention" is needed, to outwit and keep tabs on many of these young women.

In the years before the State of Connecticut banned smoking in restaurants, these young ladies could chain smoke at least a half dozen cigarettes before their "captors" realized they were late returning from their walk to either the Post Office or convenience store.  They could also consume numerous bags of chips, plates of french fries, using one bottle of ketchup per plate of fries, rearrange the entire seating plan of the restaurant, find ways to shop lift cans of soda, candy bars, chips and at one point one of the artificial house plants used in the darker corners of the restaurant.  All of these items with the exception of the house plants could be smuggled into a dorm room quite easily.  The plant never returned, the Sisters never noticed it adorning one of the dorms, only because they were actually looking for contraband, the house plant not exactly one of  the forbidden items, why should it be.  For lack of a better explanation, we have surmised...... if someone actually saw it, they liked it...probably added color or that outdoorsy look to the otherwise drab dormitory surroundings.  

Window Watching

Right now I am sitting in front of my little laptop but I find myself gazing out the back window into the now opened preserve.  Soon it will be filled with darkness, the canopy will once again bloom, bringing back the eery quiet, and tropical lushness to the forest.  For now it is, at times, a gathering place for the usual secretive species, that inhabit the place.  All morning long, we have been observing a very large owl, perched on one of the bare branches of the lone maple, only thirty feet from the house.  He is beautiful and although we did not see him land on his lofty perch, I imagine it to be magnificent.  He is large,sporting silver chest feathers intertwined with shades of brown.  But it is his hood, truly a majestic crown, setting him apart from all others, while smaller wildlife frantically searches for food.  Yet, we have noticed an ominous quiet on the thick forest floor.  No squirrels scurrying amongst the decaying leaves, much the same can be said for the usual chipmunks, mice and even the slithering snakes, often sunning themselves on the same perch, his majesty, the owl now "owns".  His eyes closed, just an occasional twitch or turn of the head, the mighty hunter, sleeps, yet somehow one gets the feeling, he is very aware, not only soaking up the rays of the sun, but movement of his next meal as well.

This window we gaze through much like the "Paris Window" of Fred's News.  It affords us a glance into the secretive world of Mother Nature, leaving us begging for more.  Yes, we are window "sitters", much like the former occupants of the "Paris Window."  Something within our psyche, keeps us wondering, observing, always asking for more.  I often watched the people that occupied the seats in the "Paris Window".  Were they just sitting, soaking up the warmth of the sun on a frigid New England day or perhaps wishful thoughts swirled through their mind, the sights and sounds allowing them a "break" from a more fretful time!  Yet I also enjoyed watching pedestrians, straining to see the inner workings of the little restaurant.  Many used the large plate glass as a mirror, often forgetting it was a "two way street."  We watched neighborhood children, on their early morning trek to school, carrying heavily ladened book bags.  On the return, the weight seemingly removed from their young shoulders...school out, time to play!  As the time passed often it was these young people, preening themselves or admiring their physical changes  in the "Paris Window".  Many young women, boarding school residents at the Sisters of Charity, Academy of the Holy Family, also claimed afternoon ownership of the "Paris Window".....a bird's eye view of their residence and perhaps one of the Sisters heading down the street looking for them.

Angie and Liz from Hanover often sat there, smoking, drinking coffee, catching up on old times, Angie having travelled frequently to Paris, enjoyed the window, it's sight, sounds and quirkiness of it's passing subjects.  She often mentioned she'd someday write about small coffee shops she'd visited in her global travels......perhaps Fred's News, one of her favorites!