Old Friends and New Traditions

Old Friends and New Traditions

Recently, an old friend re-entered my life, via Facebook, of course.
I've known David Baker since grade school. We attended the same schools growing up, often in the same class or homeroom.
David is also a homeboy, growing up just up the street and over a block from me, and he figured into my life in a musical way.
As the 60's and 70's were a time of AM radio and hits on 45 rpm records, the lot of us would purchase the latest shiny record from the downtown Greenville drug stores, or at the record store inside Woolco, the new 'shopping mall' . The latest songs came our way via WQOK AM, and the DJ's reminded us that all that they played were the hits!
David had all the hits! He even had a bunch of records that were, to me, obscure. But he methodically cataloged every one of them and kept them safe from the dreaded "scratch syndrome".
I last saw David at our high school graduation. Shortly thereafter, I was off to Greenville Tech, marriage and children, and he set his sights on USC. The years passed and lo and behold, I had been married for 34 years and David had moved to Atlanta. Enter Facebook.
I immediately 'friended' David as soon as I saw his profile. What had he been up to? Did he still have that fantastic record collection?
We met for lunch in Five Points-Columbia one afternoon while he was in town.
He not only still has that collection, he’s added to it tremendously! And, to no one’s surprise, he holds a rather high position with the Atlanta public library system.
We’ve had lunch again since that first reunion at 5 points. He, like me, is a huge fan of the band Heart, and he handed to me several CDs of Heart ‘rare cuts’.
So, thanks to my very old and very dear friend David, I am in Heart heaven!

On to new traditions.
My son Michael married a couple of years ago. He fell in love with a girl whom he had known for a few years, and they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony at the bride’s family home. This home, located in Newberry, SC, is known as the ‘Summer Home’. It’s a grand old home situated on Main Street.

Our new in-laws are Roger and Peggy, are the owners of this splendid abode.
If we had placed a special order for in-laws, we couldn’t have done any better than Peggy and Roger! Friendly, down to earth and charitable, Roger and Peggy epitomize the definition of fun!
We have been to several gatherings at their fine old home, and have not had a better time in recent memory. The newest tradition involves Roger, Peggy, the family and Halloween.
Newberry, SC is a small town, and it’s holiday traditions illustrate this. When we moved to Newberry in 1984, we first noticed this ‘small town feel’ at Christmas when all the residents along Main Street (and Johnstone Street, which runs parallel to Main) lined the sidewalks with lumineres (paper bags with lighted candles). It was a community effort!
Halloween was no different as thousands of people prowled the homes in search of candy. This is unprecedented!
For the past couple of years, Roger and Peggy have invitied us to the ‘big house’ to celebrate Halloween in a big way. There are costumes, drinks, good food, and more candy than you could imagine. We sit out front with the Jack-o-lanterns, creepy cobwebs, and the bowls and bowls of candy. As the spooky spooks and the super-heroes make their way to the front of the house by the dozens, Peggy, Roger, or the invited family members pass out the treats one by one, until all the spooks are satisfied with their evening take. In all, about 1500 goblins come by the house, holding out their bags or plastic Jack-o-lanterns for a treat.
This has become our new Halloween tradition, and hopefully one that will continue for many years to come!