Memory Lane
Updated: Oct 5, 2022
Day Trip to Pay Respects
Today Elizabeth and I took a ride out to Middletown, Maryland. Growing up my sister and I used to spend our summers there with our Grandparents James and Grace McVicker. Since it has been a few years since I have been, we cruised out and I showed Elizabeth around. We stopped and paid our respects to Grandma and Pap-pap. I recounted the time I nearly got kidnapped, we got some ice-cream at the local dairy farm, and we took some pictures that I am sure the new home owners thought was strange.
The houses that built me –
101 lfert: Our first stop was an emotional one, this is the last house we spent a lot of time in, and the one where Pap-pap got sick. We went by Pap-pap and Gma’s grave and paid our respects. We thought we could maybe walk Madison around but it was 90* out and there were no trees or clouds to ease the burn. So we went down the road to the house, and another emotional hit, the house was no longer there. It was demolished. There were pieces of foundation left buried in the ground, but everything else was gone. We asked a guy walking by if he knew what happened to the house, and he informed us that the church bought the lot as it was in very bad shape and had plans to develop the lot. This also then filled in the blank as to why the GPS could not find the address. It no longer exists.
So we packed up the dog and continued down the road where we got a quick bit to eat before heading to the next stop. But along the way, and I don’t know why this tickled me pink, they recently paved the main road into Middletown. But I suspect the line stripy guy was hammered when it was his turn, the yellow stripes that divide the lanes were 7 kinds of wonky. They looked like a 5 year old’s coloring book; they were all over the place. I tried getting a picture of the craziness and you can see here some of it, but I missed the really crazy overlapping parts. Driving along was very nostalgic, like the old BP gas station with the gorilla that waved to you, or when we would go over the hills and Pap-pap would drive fast over them to make you lose your stomach, and that one time I nearly got kidnapped.
8018 Bolivar: We cruised down the rough road trough “downtown” i.e. the 3 main buildings and 4 churches, and my heart was full, I do not remember a lot of full memories as I was young when we spent our summers there. But Things like going to the barber and getting funny haircuts. The old school leather strap and how the barber would hone his straight edge while making this whipping/cracking sounds. I was thinking about the main turn into Middletown used to be much more sparse and how you could see farm after farm as far as the eye could see. I remember riding in the car and looking towards those farms, now you can no longer see them. The trees have grown so much in 30+ years and the housing has taken away from what I remember was a very beautiful view.
We drove down SR-40 headed towards Marker Dr but missed the turn as I was so immersed in the experience. Since we drove around the block, we found a local dairy farm that had house made ice-cream with that milk. Just a short trip down the street from the dairy farm is the house that I remember the most. The pine trees used to drop pine needles and the smell is still visceral. The horse farm behind, and the willow tree my sister gave herself poison ivy. Sadly all of the pine trees have been cut down, and the willow tree has been gone for a long time. Pap-pap’s wood working shop no longer there. I remember the Uber rides Pap-pap would take me on, on the riding lawn mower. That makes me smile. Oh and staying up late to watch “Hee Haw”. The scariest memory I think would be the time I almost was kidnapped. I remember very clearly a car pulling up and asking me a 3-5 year old “directions”, and he kept asking for me to come closer to his car. When Grandma Grace yelled from the window to get my ass back inside, he sped off. Scary stuff aside it was a place we would play grocery in the attic. Gma would save the egg crates and cereal boxes and we would play house upstairs. The dinner’s grandma would cook, while watching wheel of fortune. This is also where I would develop a strong hankering for Circus Peanuts, Gma candy dish. I still have a soft spot for Kerosene heaters. Oh man so many good times. We pulled up in the driveway, and I wanted to ask the home owner if we could just look around.
7300 Picnic Woods –
This was the last stop on the tour and I only have a few memories here, like playing in the side yard. I wish I had a few solid memories from here, but I was just a baby. We stopped and went down the long tree lined driveway which I am sure the people living there thought was super strange.
A nice trip down memory lane.
D&E
