Nostalgically Remembering 79 Hillcrest Ave.

This is week 14 of the "ABC with the Accidental Tourist Knitter. (oops) :)
The letter is N

Nostalgia

Don't we all get that way sometimes.   I was feeling that way last weekend.   I decided to take a ride to my old home town.   My intention was to have breakfast at the Edison Diner.  We got a little bit of a late start though.  We were both way to hungry to wait so we stopped at a diner in Brick instead.

About an hour later we passed the Edison Diner.

I gave Ross the hometown tour.   This is where I went to grammar school, here is my old high school, and this is the old neighborhood.  This is the house where my friend Cathy lived.  We would meet at this corner and walk to school together.

See that shopping center over there, that used to be a bowling ally - Edison Lanes.    Over there is the Swim Club.   Our family couldn't afford the membership, but I had plenty of friends with guest passes. Now it is a community pool. 

We drove down Hillcrest Ave.  Number 79 is house that I grew up in.   I took a picture of it from the car window. 

See that house across the street?  That family had 13 kids.  And their grandmother also lived with them.  Cookie (her real name was Joy) and I used to  take walks around the block on hot summer nights. 

Ricky lived in the house next door.  He had crush on me.   He used to ask if he could walk me to school.  But you know he was into frogs and snakes and that wasn't my thing.   So mostly I would say no. 

The family two doors down had 7 boys.  I guess they weren't going to give up until they had a girl.  Cindy was number 8.   I wonder if they thought they were on a roll with girls and that's why they had a ninth.  But Kevin, number nine, was their last.

When we moved into our house, there was an empty lot next door.  About a year later a couple bought the lot and built what we thought was a very large home.   We knew they must have been very rich because she drove a pink Cadillac.  It was the only house on the street that had a second level and a patio in the back yard.

Now that house has been sorely neglected.   I have a feeling it is in foreclosure.  And it didn't look as big to me.  In fact the whole street didn't seem to be the way I remembered it.   I guess things do look different when you are a kid. 

After my visit,  I understand what Thomas Wolfe meant when he said  "You Can't Go Home Again".

Do you think that's true?

BTW,  Ross was very patient during the tour.   But he kinda owed me.  I have been on so many tours of his beloved hometown of Nyack that I could probably give that tour too.

And the Winners Are...The Mysterious Surpise Mystery Give A Way

The announcement of the winners and a continuation of the story...

Part One
Mysty had been driving straight for over six hours. She was starting to feel tired.  The road was flat, straight and monotonously hypnotizing.    Her eyes were getting heavy.  She still had many miles to go.

Her better judgment told her that she should take a break and stop at the next WaWa for gas and a cup of much needed coffee.

The all night gas station was empty.  Not surprising, though, since it was 3:00 a.m. in the middle of no where.  A sleepy young attendant sauntered over to her car.   As he was filling up the tank,  she ran into the convenience store for a large Dark Roast.

When she got back to the car, she noticed that another car had pulled in.   As she glanced over,  she thought the car looked familiar and she was sure that she had seen the driver somewhere before.  

The attendant handed the receipt to her.   She started up her car and got back on the road.  She didn't want to have to stop again until she reached her destination.

She  had waited a long time for this; practically her whole life.   She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like.   How would she feel once she was there?

She became engrossed in her thoughts.   A half hour passed before she noticed the headlights of another car behind her.

Another soul on the road at this time day?  How curious, she thought.  She wondered if it was the same car and driver from the WaWa.

She and the car behind her kept up a steady pace for the next two hours.

She was happy to finally see the sun rising, peeking through the distant mountain tops. The warmth of the sun would be welcomed.  Even though her twenty year old blue Chevy II was reliable, the heating system was not.

She was wearing her old red parka.   Her long brown hair was tied up under the bright orange hat her Mom had made for her.   At least her hands were warm in the blue mittens. They were the last thing that her mother ever knitted.  

She could clearly see the other car now.  It was the same one from the gas station.   The driver wore a baseball cap, but Mysty knew that the driver of the other car was someone she knew.

As she continued driving, her thoughts turned to the last day her Mom was alive.   Mysty sat on the edge of the bed.    Mom's breathing was labored, but she insisted that she needed to tell Mysty something.   Mysty held her hand as her mother revealed the secret.

That was more than twenty years ago.   Mysty had made a promise to her mother that on this date she would take the journey that she was embarking on today.

She had a few regrets during her life.   She hoped that this would not turn out to be one of her biggest.  But a promise is a promise, especially one made to your mother on her death bed.

Part Two

Mysty would never forget the summer she was 15.   He told her that she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.  Even though he would be leaving for college in the fall, he promised that they could talk on the phone every night and they would be able to see each other during school breaks.    They had their whole life planned out.  

But that was a whole lifetime ago.  

She turned off the highway at the exit for Millersville.  She realized that the car that was behind her for most of the trip did not take the same exit, but continued on the highway.   

As she followed the directions that the attorney had given her, she found herself driving down a tree lined street in a quaint little town.   Situated among a group of old Victorian buildings was number thirty-two.  

She nervously walked up the steps to the front door.   The sign outside read "My Mom Knits".   

There was a large window with a display of  tiny hats,  little sweaters,  pink booties,  green, yellow and white baby blankets.   She recognized each of the items.   She had spent most of the nine months knitting while waiting for the birth of her baby girl.  

As she opened the door she heard the tinkle of the old overhead bell.    

All around her Mysty saw nooks and shelves filled with soft luscious yarn.

She noticed a group of women sitting around in old rocking chairs.   The women were chatting and knitting away.  

She spotted her immediately.  She was bending over talking to one of the women.

How beautiful she was...


Well I am sure there is much more to this story which just might pop up in a future post.

I want to thank Sharon from Witchyknits and Amy for their wonderful suggestions.   A mystery surprise will be on the way for each.

Mysty and the Case of The Mysterious Surpise Mystery Give A Way

Monday - Learn Your ABC with the Accidental Knitter.
Today is Lucky 13- The Letter M.

Mysty had been driving straight for over six hours. She was starting to feel tired.  The road was flat, straight and monotonously hypnotizing.    Her eyes were getting heavy.  She still had many miles to go.

Her better judgment told her that she should take a break and stop at the next WaWa for gas and a cup of much needed coffee.

The all night gas station was empty.  Not surprising, though, since it was 3:00 a.m. in the middle of no where.  A sleepy young attendant sauntered over to her car.   As he was filling up the tank,  she ran into the convenience store for a large Dark Roast.

When she got back to the car, she noticed that another car had pulled in.   As she glanced over,  she thought the car looked familiar and she was sure that she had seen the driver somewhere before.  

The attendant handed the receipt to her.   She started up her car and got back on the road.  She didn't want to have to stop again until she reached her destination.

She  had waited a long time for this; practically her whole life.   She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like.   How would she feel once she was there?

She became engrossed in her thoughts.   A half hour passed before she noticed the headlights of another car behind her.

Another soul on the road at this time day?  How curious, she thought.  She wondered if it was the same car and driver from the WaWa.

She and the car behind her kept up a steady pace for the next two hours.

She was happy to finally see the sun rising, peeking through the distant mountain tops. The warmth of the sun would be welcomed.  Even though her twenty year old blue Chevy II was reliable, the heating system was not.

She was wearing her old red parka.   Her long brown hair was tied up under the bright orange hat her Mom had made for her.   At least her hands were warm in the blue mittens. They were the last thing that her mother ever knitted.  

She could clearly see the other car now.  It was the same one from the gas station.   The driver wore a baseball cap, but Mysty knew that the driver of the other car was someone she knew.

As she continued driving, her thoughts turned to the last day her Mom was alive.   Mysty sat on the edge of the bed.    Mom's breathing was labored, but she insisted that she needed to tell Mysty something.   Mysty held her hand as her mother revealed the secret.

That was more than twenty years ago.   Mysty had made a promise to her mother that on this date she would take the journey that she was embarking on today.

She had a few regrets during her life.   She hoped that this would not turn out to be one of her biggest.  But a promise is a promise, especially one made to your mother on her death bed.

Where was Mysty going?  What was the secret?  And who was following her?

Ready to help solve the mystery?   All you have to do is suggest answers to the above questions.  All participating suggesters will win a mysterious surprise.

My next post will reveal all.   Perhaps your ending will be the best one.