A Trip Back In Time....................

Hello! Feeling a bit nostalgic this morning. I am taking a break from the subject of cruising. Let's take short trip back in time to a time when the world was a bit more peaceful. When I was growing up in Melrose, a suburb about 10 miles north of Boston the world was a more gentle place. At least my world was. We had a summer home in New Hampshire. Just a simple cabin in the Lakes Region near Newfound Lake. Let's go to the early 60's I was about 14 years old. We would pack up on Friday night and head north to the "camp" as we called it. Arrival at camp meant we got to work unpacking the clothes and supplies we brought for the weekend. Saturday was full of fun and beach time. We always knew that dinner would mean that all the neighbors would be coming to eat. We usually had a potluck those nights. My Mother was well known for her baked beans. In the morning she would fill two bean pots and put them in the oven to cook all day. The air would be full of the delicious smell of those beans baking. The neighbors were arriving, all carrying more delicious homemade meals. I distinctly remember the "galumpka" that Mrs Weincek made. Everyone brought food. A variety of wonderful homemade goodness. Italian, Greek, Polish and of course my mothers very New England beans. Dad would make tables from planks set across saw horses. They would be covered with sheets. The table would fill with the food and a huge stack of paper plates, cups and plastic ware. We would fill our plates and go find a place to eat. The adults always took up the picnic tables and we kids would have blankets on the ground. Dinner would be done and we would clean up and put away the remaining foods. Usually there would be a horseshoe tournament among the men. The ladies would sit and talk. We kids would just enjoy the evening. As I write this I have to wonder where the serenity went to. I can sit here in my home in Florida and imagine that the people up there in NH are still continuing that fun tradition we had, but I doubt it. The world is a different place from way back then. Memories of a more pleasant world are all that remain.