The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Yours truly, as monster hunting reporter, Carl Kolchak.

Hello again everyone! I know it's been a while since I've written. Life's always so hectic, especially when you work full time and you have a 5 year old who just started kindergarten. Yes, it's now late september. The time that school is back in session and everyone is bummed that the summer is over. So with no vacations left, 8 hours of school drudgery plus homework, what could come along at just the right time to turn those frowns upside down? If you answered football you probably stumbled on to this blog by accident.

No silly! HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Doctor Octopus!

Yes Halloween! All Hallow's Eve. Samhain. Whatever you choose to call it, the holiday that kicks off the chain of holidays that ends with New Years Eve.

Now each holiday is a good one, and each has it's fans. It's hard to argue with the fun of Christmas. New Years is okay I guess. Thanksgiving is all about family, which is alright, but which of the big holidays is all about fun? All about friends? All about a sort of counter culture rebelliousness? Yup...Halloween.

Tara as Fix-It Felix Jr.

Now I could write an entire blog about the origins of Halloween, but then again this forum isn't about that. It's the world funelled through my eyes. My vision, So here I am to talk about why Halloween means so very much to me.

To start a talk about Halloween we really need to go back to childhood. When we were kids, Halloween was all about carving pumpkins, picking out a costume and candy. I'm sure if you ask most kids what the best part of Halloween is they'd say the candy.

Sure candy is great but all my life I preferred the fun costumes and decorations. The fact that you didn't have to sit around a table for some big meal with relatives. On Halloween we came home from school, ate a quick meal, got into our costumes and sat anxiously awaiting sundown so we could roam the streets with our Dad.

Halloween was the one holiday where Dad took a more active role. Mom stayed home watching Halloween specials on tv and handing out candy. She rarely handed out much because we lived close to a busy road. Most kids preferred to head in the opposite direction where there just happened to be row homes. One walkway...2 doors! It was a no-brainer.

2015 and making our own Halloween family traditions.

So Dad would take the night off and walk my sister and I around. I started with the old boxed Ben Cooper costumes. Cheap plastic bodysuits with plastic masks of your favorite characters held on by an elastic band. I can't remember them all but I know I had a JAWS one once.

A few years later I moved onto higher quality rubber masks and later more elaborate makeup. I was The Riddler, The Invisible Man, The Mummy. The latter two both involving some degree of wrapping in bandages.

The Invisible Man of course.

I turned 18 and I threw my first Halloween Party. It had a Batman theme and all the guests dressed up as Batman villains. I was Mr. Freeze, That was cool...pardon the pun. A couple of years later I was living in North Carolina and we threw a big party at my parents place. Dad set up a great hayride through the woods on their property. I had been bitten by the bug. I LOVED Halloween parties. There would be many more, but not for a few years.

A Bat Rogues Gallery!

The early 2000's came along and I settled down in New Hampshire and truly began the golden age of my Halloween Parties. They were so much fun, and the costumes so elaborate, and the themed food and drinks so impressive, that a few of my friends still travel 8 hours to attend my contemporary bashes over a decade later. That's not too shabby.

Halloween: The New Hampshire Days.

Now Dawn and I continue to host an annual party. It doesn't always have the huge number of guests that I had in my 20's, but the costumes just get better and better. Every year we deck the place out in creepy and festively freakish decor and invite everyone over. There's only one rule, everyone must wear a costume.

My first Halloween Party back in PA....and more Batman villains.

Speaking of costumes, I never cease to be amazed by some of the ones people come up with. Nate Paro and Stacie Husted in particular have truly wowed us year after year. Still, I appreciate all costumes and all levels of skill. There's no costume shaming here.

Every year as the night winds on, I mingle with the guests and begin taking their votes as to who has the best male and best female costumes. Once I tally the votes we announce the winners of the costume contest and prizes are awarded. It's one of my favorite parts of the evening.

Winners 2011: Julia Phipps as Princess Leia and Nate Paro as Sgt. Slaughter.

Winners 2012: Dan Ritchie as Green Arrow and Jennifer Diem as Liberty Belle.

Winners 2013: Nate Paro as Macho Man Randy Savage and Stacie Husted as Mary Poppins.

Winners 2014: J.P. Riley as Inspector Gadget and Tara Krause as Buddy The Elf.

Winners 2015: Tara Krause as The Riddler and Alex Hallman as Colonel Sanders.

Much like Christmas, Halloween for me is a month long event. There are some movies and classic specials that just have to be watched every year. Some of my must-see entertainment are the following films:

Halloween - The John Carpenter classic and the introduction to Michael Myers.

Frankenstein and The Bride Of Frankenstein - The two classic Boris Karloff movies are classics for a reason. The director, James Whale was no hack, and the quality of the two Universal Monser films shines.

Dawn's great Punky Brewster costume.

The Wolfman - Another Universal classic. This one owes less to direction and more to the wonderfully sympathetic performance by Lon Chaney Jr.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - This is a wonderful October themed horror film. The fall season is just as much a character as the sinister Autumn Carnival people who come to corrupt the small town it takes place in.

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein - Genuinely funny and the final appearance of the classic Universal Monsters. The beauty of this is the fact that they never mock the monsters. They're played straight...and to perfection.

The Monster Squad - The 80's cult classic involving a group of kids who have a monster fan club, having to stop a plot by Dracula and the other classic monsters. Way more fun and edgy than it sounds.

Trick r Treat - A great recent movie that captures the true spirit of Halloween better than almost anything else I can think of.

Dawn and Dave as Velma and Shaggy.

Also let's not forget the holiday specials that must be seen yearly...

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - Obviously.

Disney's The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad - The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow segment is a wonderfully atmospheric gem.

and of course classic animated shorts like...

"Lonesome Ghosts", where Mickey, Donald and Goofy work as prototype Ghostbusters to investigate a haunted house.

"The Flying Sorceress", where Tom and Jerry get mixed up with a witch.

"Hair Raising Hare", in which Bugs Bunny runs afoul of a mad scientist and his big hairy monster.

Our Halloween poster signed by John Carpenter and some of the cast.

Of course I'm sure you all have your own favorites and I'd love to know what they are!

See? That's the great thing about Halloween. It's a deeply personal holiday. It can mean as much or as little as you want it to. It can be all about traditions or you can just wing it. It can be a fun night spent with family, or a fun night spent with the friends who've become like family. Whatever you want!

Speaking of deeply personal. Halloween is also our wedding anniversary. Yes Dawn and I got married on Halloween. Many were invited. The only rule? Everyone had to wear a costume!

Yup. Married on Halloween!

I love Halloween because I love the traditions. I love dressing up! I love handing out candy. Now I love to help my own boy with his costumes. I love helping friends with their costumes! I love watching all the aforementioned specials and movies. I love throwing a big party and laughing and drinking and eating.

Nate Paro as The Big Boss Man.

Sam as Honey Boo Boo and Nate as Mankind.

Nate as Jerry The King Lawler.

I love the imagery. Jack O'Lanterns. Monsters. Bats. You name it! Mostly I love giving others something to love about Halloween. I can't wait for this years party. I'm excited to deck the place out and to see the costumes and foods that people bring. If you've been to one before I thank you and hope to see you again. If you're coming for the first time or the 10th, it'll be great to see you!

The evenings are getting chilly. The days are cooling down. The leaves are changing colors. Pumpkin flavored crap is everywhere. Halloween is coming....let's make the best of it!

The Author, proud of his Shoveler costume.

A Halloween Wedding Is Awesome!

Hello again everyone! I've been getting some great feedback lately and new readers. That's great! Apparently I must be doing something right. One thing I keep hearing from people is that they enjoy reading things about me that they didn't know. This time out I wanted to take a little while to talk about getting married on Halloween, and why it's great!

When Dawn and I decided to get married we wanted something memorable and that we would really enjoy. We're both huge fans of Halloween, so we decided a Halloween wedding in which everyone wore costumes would be great. For starters, the money saved on dresses and tuxes alone made it worthwhile financially.

Dawn decided to be a vampire. I decided to be a Ghostbuster. Most of the family and friends quickly got excited about the idea although it did take some convincing on a few of the older guests who were used to a more traditional theme.

Showing off that sweet new piece of jewely to JP.

Dawn got to planning and I got to working on my costume. We got married in a park in Glenolden PA that we had both long admired for it's many trees that we felt would look fantastic on October 31st. There was also quite a bit of old and interesting stone work that we felt would make for great backgrounds and pictures.

See? Lots of atmosphere!

Dawn obviously chose her long time best friend Stacie to be her Maid Of Honor, as well as her niece Miranda and our friend Missy to round out her brides maids.

Admittedly we couldn't agree on a costume theme.

I chose my Uncle Chip to be my Best Man, and long time friend JP and Dawn's nephew Joshua were my groomsmen.

My good friend from NH, Aaron had a hearse that he drove as his daily car at the time and he gladly agreed to act as our limo.

Aaron...or Batman?

He drove us to the park, Dawn in style in the front, and I rolling around in the back. The ceremony was nice and afterwards we enjoyed taking lots of pictures, especially since everyone was in costume!

Nice ride...unless you were rolling around in the back.

My family came up from North Carolina. Dawn's brothers and their families came up from Tennessee and Virginia.

Dawn, her mom, and her brothers.

My Mom and Dad. They came as Ghost Hunters. Clever ones those two...

My good friends from New Hampshire came down. The aforementioned JP and Aaron came as well as Dave, Amanda and Evil.

Afterwards the reception was held at Caroline's in Secane. It was a nice place with good food although it has sadly since closed down. I had made jack o'lantern centerpieces for each table, and we decorated the place for Halloween.

NH Crew representin'!

One idea I was very proud of was since this was on Halloween and their were children attending, we bought buckets of candy for each of the tables, and kids were encouraged to go from table to table trick or treating. This way they still got to enjoy the tradition and get plenty of candy so they didn't feel they were missing out.

Sappy...but traditional.

Dawn had said she'd always wanted to have doughnuts instead of a cake, so we did that too. Of course they were also Halloween themed.

It was a lot of fun and years later people still talk about it. The only regret we have looking back, is that we truly wish that so many of our friends we've met in the years since then could have come.

Dawn's family...and it's newest member.

It was something magical to choose our favorite day of the year as the day we will always celebrate our anniversary. The most important thing I can say about this would be that I was so fortunate to marry a woman who shared my love of Halloween and so many other things that most people probably wouldn't understand.

Look at all those costumes!

At the end of the day I can best sum up the entire experience with this last picture. The joy that I would get to walk off with this woman and begin my greatest adventure. That adventure would have a name.....and it would be Clark...

And they lived geekily ever after...

Working Stiff Part 2: You CAN Go Home Again!

Greetings friends! When last we left our hero he had packed up a moving truck and began the journey back to his home state of Pennsylvania. Will he arrive safely? Will he find a good job? Will he make new friends as nice as the ones he left back in New Hampshire? Will the New Hampshire friends stay in touch? Will this be the last question?
Yes. No. Yes. Yes and yes.

I suppose I should elaborate. The trip to PA was uneventful. I moved here. I moved in with Dawn in her grandmothers old house and went to work on restarting my life. With all my experience at the hospital back in NH I figured I'd have no trouble finding a job. Well we all know what they say about assumptions, right?

I immediately began submitting applications to local hospitals and I couldn't even get a job in the laundry. I took a job with UPS over the holidays. The pay was decent but the job was physically rough. I was glad when it was over.

After Christmas my uncle called asking how badly I needed a job. I said I needed one pretty badly as I was about out of cash and options. He stressed I would most likely one day curse him for this, but that the grocery store he worked for was desperate for help in their deli. I applied. I got the job. I curse him daily...

I started out part time but usually working 40 hours a week. It was without a doubt the most thankless, most mind numbingly terrible job I had since Arby's. Still, it was a paycheck and I soldiered on. One thing I can say is that co-workers came and went like a revolving door. There are many people I liked and many more I could barely tolerate. This is supposed to be about the people who came into my life and stayed. I'll focus on them and not the friends that drifted away or some of the terrible people I thought were my friends but ended up being anything but.

I started my tour of duty at the Chadds Ford location and the first person I should mention is Jennifer Behrle. Jenn was the assistant manager of the Deli and we've known each other now for almost 8 years. I've heard people jokingly refer to her as my sister and I suppose that's a fair description. Much like my own sisters, Jenn and I have fought like cats and dogs. As many of you know I have a real problem with authority. As my boss that would often mean I had a real problem with her. However like family as everyone would come and go Jenn and I would always still be there and because of that we became friends. When an opportunity to get out of the deli came up, Jenn pushed to get me into a cheese specialist position. That was the best thing to happen to me there, as I no longer had to slave away on the slicers.

The MAN....and The Boss.

Things were looking up and friendships bloomed. Twin brothers Tim and Rich Bomgardner were first. Rich was the assistant seafood manager and Tim worked next door in the hot foods department. Once I learned that they were comic book fans and fellow geeks the friendship blossomed quickly. I began inviting them to various gatherings and parties and they've remained good and true friends ever since. If you've ever been to a gathering at my house and had Herr's chips and Heluva Good Dip, thank the Bomgardners. That's their regular contribution!

Tim and Rich and some nerd.

Other notable friends like Evan, Scott, Peyton, Matt and Sean either drifted off or moved away, but came to so many functions that I feel they deserve a mention here. All were amazing friends that I have the warmest of memories of,

Next on the list of friends that refuse to go away (I kid! I kid!) is Jessica and Andrew Whinnery. They weren't a couple when I met them but they both worked at the store with me. Andrew and I would run into each other in the back room often and became casual friends. I was struck by what a good and decent guy he was. Most of the men there were absolute pigs, but not Andrew. Always respectful and always decent. He was the kind of guy you hoped one of your best friends would end up with. It just so happens, that's exactly what happened.

One of the only weddings I was ever happy to attend.

Jessica Alexander was a cashier. Beautiful girl. One look at her and you were sure she'd been a cheerleader and dated only the best looking and most popular athletic types. The kind of woman I'd avoid like the plague. I'm so very glad I didn't. I would have judged a book by it's cover and that would have been a tragedy.

Our first conversation consisted of talking trash about the newly elected Barack Obama. We shared a laugh and every time we'd run into each other we'd share another laugh. Soon we would take our fifteen minute breaks together every shift. For such a girly girl who seemed synonymous with glitter, Jess had a thoughtful soul and a real gift for drawing conversation out of a guy who preferred to play everything close to the vest. Jess became a regular at gatherings and her kindness spread to the rest of the gang. At one Halloween party she and Andrew decided to go on a date. A few years later we drove to Maryland for their wedding. They live in Maryland now but she texts me regularly and Jess hasn't missed one of my birthdays dinners yet and as the next one approaches in just a week, she'll be in attendance again.

A couple of good lookin' women....and me.

Next up would have to be Jennifer Diem. Jenn was a quiet cashier closer to my own age who was perpetually late. A single mothers life is a tough one, and I really don't remember how we started talking. I DO know she's been a regular at our parties and holiday gatherings for years, but she's usually late. It's just her thing I guess, but so is kindness and loyalty, and that's more than a fair tradeoff.

That time Jen and I dressed up as 1940's heroes...

Next up will be one of the only managers I have ever had any respect for. Now remember this. Most managers in retail are pretty close to politicians. Full of shit and almost always a bunch of sellouts. Not so Bill Hart. Bill was just a good and amiable guy who I grew to have a lot of respect for over time. After I left Bill became a semi-regular at parties and was always good for laughs and beer.

A couple of good lookin' women....and Bill and I.

The last person I'll mention from that store is someone who really became my friend after I left. Young Allie Aaronson was still in high school when she became a cashier and I would always pass her as I was leaving. She was a very chipper and friendly girl who would always chat with me on my way out. On my last day she asked for my number and asked me to keep in touch. I never figured she would. She did, and did she ever. She became a regular around our gang and now she's recently turned 21 so we can give her alcohol and not worry about getting in trouble! I can't say enough good about her. A good soul for sure.

Allie and I heading out to bury a body!

Remember the first Jenn from there? Of course you do! She got a job at the Broomall location and a promotion to department manager. A few months later she wanted me to come and be her assistant manager. I wasn't interested. However the small raise sounded a lot better after a few painful falling outs happned at the store I was in. I went for the interview, got the job and was ready to make new friends and continue the popularity I had achieved at the last store.

I hit the ground with a resounding THUD.

Maybe it was the new management title. Maybe it was the "lower" class of employees and customers. Maybe it was just my mindset from the terrible last few months I had spent at the previous store, but you'd have thought I had the plague. Nobody really wanted to talk to me and I just kept misfiring with every interaction. I grew even more depressed and would take my lunch and just go eat in my car as opposed to sitting by myself in the break room.

One day I casually mentioned this to Dawn and she got upset. She told me she never wanted to hear I was eating by myself in my car again. I promised her I'd try again and back to the break room I went. I'm so glad I did.

Very soon after I began eating indoors again I became aware that many of my breaks I'd end up sitting at a table across from a quiet, 6 foot tall, slender woman with tattoos and brightly dyed hair. She looked so much different from everyone else there that I just decided to strike up a conversation one day. We talked through the next several breaks if we ran into one another, and found we shared a very similar sense of humor. After a week she sat with me instead of talking across tables. Another week and she would ask what time I was taking breaks or lunch and a couple years later, rarely a break or lunch goes by that we aren't sitting together. We found we shared the same humor and a general similar attitude toward most things and I finally was glad I'd went to a different store. Devin Shalles has become one of the best friends I've ever known, and a regular around Poole gatherings. She sits atop the cream of the crop in my long life of friends, along with such notables as Dave, JP, Jess, Sarah and Stacie.

And yes, we're in the break room.

I decided that quality was better than quantity, and I was just fine being friends with Jenn and Devin at work. That's not to say I haven't made other friends. I couldn't be honest if I didn't mention how much laughter and fun have come from being friends with Mark Baldino, John Digiacomo and "Philly" Mary Cummings. Mark and I talk a lot of old TV and politics. John is one of the funniest guys I know and loves to loudly sing the opening lines to numerous songs. Only the opening lines though. Mary is about as real and "salt of the earth" a human being as you'll meet. She's had a rough life but her goodness and decency always impress me.

Mary, Leah, John, Jenn and yours truly..plus my second chin,

I should also mention the first new employee to be hired in the deli after me. Leah Geraghty came along about a month after me and stayed for over two years. We shared a mutual friend, Dan Ritchie, and so we had something to talk about right there. She was always a good and loyal friend to me. In the grocery biz even the decent folks can fall victim to gossip and trash talk. Not Leah. She could be a tremendous pain in my ass, but her loyalty was never in doubt. I'm glad that we've kept in touch.

I wonder what month Leah and I took this picture in?

I should also mention Pat and Steve and Dana Coffey too. Pat and Steve work in the seafood department next to me and are both big comic nerds, Obviously that's sparked many a conversation when we should actually be working. Both standup guys that I look forward to seeing. Dana Coffey works in pricing and is about the nicest, most easy going and pleasant person you could meet.

Mel Miller comes across as one tough chick from a rough neighborhood, but get her talking about Harry Potter or Pokemon and just watch her light up like a kid. I'm not a big fan of either of those things but I love talking to her about them, if only to see her soften and smile and get excited. Also honorable mentions to Deb and Quiana, who're always so pleasant.

Thug life. Straight outta Broomall.

Finally I have to mention Dave Wilt. Dave came to us after dealing with his own childhood adversity and challenges as a shy and struggling young guy. I actually tried to keep him at arms length for a while as I think I just wasn't in the right spot in my own head for friends at the time. I discovered he loved comics and as I was looking to downsize my own collection. I decided to just give him hundreds of books. We began talking more and I became aware of how really great this guy is. I started inviting him around and I've taken him to a comic shop a few times. Next to Devin, Dave is the most loyal and open Paul fan in that entire building. I love the guy to pieces. Dave and Devin have gone on several adventures with Dawn and I and they became good friends as well. If I gotta have three people in the car and going to a weird abandoned mining town, those three are my main peeps.

What a coincidence! A picture of us in a strange abondoned mining town!

Now I have other wonderful friends that I didn't meet on the job. Tara, Dana, Nate, Stacie and of course my amazing and beautiful wife, Dawn, who started out as one of my best friends in High School, but this two-part blog was all about those amazing folks I've met on the job. There were others to be sure, but this was about the ones I think about every day or almost every day.

ladykillers...

Life is a tapestry. Some grand weaver is interlocking all the threads together. The threads are each of us. Some are meant to stay woven around you for a short time, some possibly and hopefully forever. All are important though. These people are what makes life mean something. The family you choose for yourself. I have the best "family" anyone could ever ask for. They give my life meaning and purpose and I hope everyone reading can experience the same as me.

A bunch of people mentioned in the last 2 blogs! Tim, Tara, Dave, Rich, Devin, me, Dawn, Jess, JP, Awahl, Stacie and Allie. Legends all!

Working Stiff: The History Of Me Working So I can Afford All These Wonderful Toys..

Hello again friends! This time around, I had several ideas to write about. I seem to get the best responses when I talk about my past and the memories I have. So with that in mind I decided this post would be about the jobs I've had over the years, the friends I've made at them, and in some instances major life changes that may have happened at the time. So without further ado, let's hop into the Wayback Machine and travel back to 1990.

Me at the first job, I was 15. Look at all that hair!

My first job as I have mentioned before, was also one of my best. I was a longtime customer of Comic Universe. I was lucky enough to get my first job there too. I worked there for two years, using most of my earnings to finance my collecting. Some of the most important comic books in my collection were purchased while employed there. The first appearances of Batgirl, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze were all purchased there. Also bought during that time was the first appearance of Bane, which I had signed by his creator Chuck Dixon, who was a regular visitor to the shop.

Besides all the great comics, I became good friends with the owner Frank, his daughter Christin, and fellow employees Steve Taylor, Mike Bazis, and Phil Falco. I'm still friends with all of them on Facebook, and I remember a lot of great times with Steve and Mike in particular, Steve got me into They Might Be Giants and I've been happy to see him when we've run into each other in recent years. Mike got me the promotional movie poster for Army Of Darkness that hangs in my living room as I type this.

My next job was at the Arby's down the street from where I grew up. It's a Zac's Hamburgers now. Arby's was my first job that sucked. I wish there was another way I could say it, but it's true. The management was ok and I got along with the owner well enough, but working at a fast food place is pretty terrible. It's not the job, it's the customers. People no better than you treat you like dirt. Watching kids with great grades and college scholarships being treated like they're idiots got to me. My general dislike of the public began there while slicing beef and sacking curly fries.

That's not to say we didn't have our fun and make lasting friendships. My closest friend made in those days is Kevin Donahue. He was a bit nerdy himself and we became friends pretty quickly. We remain friends to this day and have gotten together plenty of times. He even attended Dawn and I's wedding.

The other friend of note I made was Michele Skarren. Michele has a rare distinction indeed. She was the first person I ever worked at two separate jobs with . In fact, only two others can say they did that. More on that later. For now let's follow Michele onto her next job, and mine as well...

A bank teller. Who'da thunk it? Yes after leaving Arby's, I got a job as a bank teller for Fidelity Bank that merged and became First Union Bank while I was being trained. I briefly worked at the Tinicum branch. That was in a pretty rough neighborhood as I soon learned when I had to spend my days behind thick bullet resistant glass. Thankfully I was soon transferred out to the much higher class Ridley Township branch. Working at a bank was a step up. I became the business teller and got along well with most of the customers. My nerdy ways weren't so popular with the management, but it was fun working with Michele again, and I became good friends with the head teller, Lynn Amalfitano. Lynn and her husband Vince were really good people and welcomed me into their home regularly.

After some time my parents moved to North Carolina for my Dad's job, and after another year I traveled down myself. My first job there would be the most important one since Comic Universe. My second day in town I applied at Blockbuster figuring a movie fan like me would enjoy it. They weren't interested, and as I was walking back to my car I saw a help wanted sign at the Papa John's Pizza next door. I walked in, applied, and the rest is history.

Delivering pizza was FUN! I got to drive around listening to the radio all day and walking out with at least a hundred dollars in tips daily. This job led to my first apartment and two of the best friends I have ever had. I made a lot of good friends there, but all paled in comparison to Jessica Manos and Sarah Nutter. I met Jess first. She was also from out of town, in her case California, and we quickly became inseparable. We shared a love of Batman and movies and I was sad when she finally moved back to California. That sadness was nothing from the sadness I felt when I learned that two days after she moved back she stepped out to cross a street and was struck and killed by a bus. I've had fallings out with a handful of people over the years, and many friends that drifted away as friends often do, but this was the first time someone was taken from me. I still miss her.

Life is like a pendulum though. Upswings follow downswings, but rarely do you have an upswing like meeting someone like Sarah Nutter. Sarah was just a wonderful friend. We became close friends fast and I have so many warm memories of adventures with her. I'm so happy to say that even though she moved to Missouri and I moved all over the place, we still keep in regular contact and one day we'll meet up again.

Sarah. Truly one of the greatest! This was taken the last time we saw one another,

Time to skip ahead a few years, and I was living in New Hampshire. I lived in NH for something like 7 years, and it's a beautiful place. I miss is every day, especially the people I met there. The first job I had was at a music and video store called Strawberries. I met some great folks there, including the other two people that I worked at more than one job with. Those two would be Bob Burrill and Sarah Huggins. On outward appearances Bob-E-B as we all called him was about as different from me as could be. We became friends quickly. He's one of the funniest guys I know. Sarah was a bit of a free-spirited hippie type with a heart of gold. Brionne, Christin and Amber were also great, but I really have to take a moment out to mention Genevieve.

Sarah Huggins!

Bob-E-B!

Gen was my boss there and I did everything in my power to blur that boss / employee relationship. From the time I convinced her to let all the staff drink during an overnight shift, to the times I watched out for her as she served shots to drunken idiots at her second job, to the time I held her hair as she got sick from too many shots on her own. I helped her move into her apartment where the heat was always stuck on 100. I tied her first Christmas tree to the roof of my car...and then we held onto it as a snowstorm hit and the rope came loose and it almost fell off the roof. Good times.

Genevieve and I. 

Strawberries closed up and I got a job with Bob-E-B at Circuit City. Sarah Huggins even came along for a brief stint. There I met two more great bosses. The store manager Ken was a great guy. He was just a real pleasure to work for and he had these huge annual work parties at his house he called Kenfest. His assistant manager Becky was the one who hired me, I still remember my interview. She later became the manager herself and I remember lots of talks in her office, and spaghetti dinner at her house with other friends from work. I also remember the day the company forced her to lay me off. She cried and despite having just bought a house and being unemployed, I was the one trying to cheer her up.

Becky. She fired me but she cried so it was ok.

Other great people that I still keep in touch with are plentiful, like Marissa, Mike, Gatsu, Pat, Sarah and some others, but I can't write this blog post without stopping to mention four friends. J.P., Dave, Amanda and Aaron. On my first day on the job I met J.P. and Dave. Aaron and Amanda would com later, but all three would and continue to leave a lasting mark on my life.

An embarrassing picture of me and JP.

J.P. and I were practically inseparable. Aaron, (or Awahl as we called him), Amanda and I were all room mates at one point, and later Dave, Amanda and I were roomies. Dave and Amanda gave me a place to live for as long as I needed when I was going through my divorce.

Amanda and I enjoying a frigid New England winter!

To this day we keep in touch. All of them have visited me here more than once, and Dave comes several times a year.

Dave, Gatsu and Awahl.

After getting laid off from Circuit City I got a job at Concord Hospital. In the year or so that I was there I met a lot of really nice folks, but one stands out above all others. Evie was the receptionist for a doctor there and by all rights all I did for her was drop off and pick up mail twice a day. I spent a lot more time with others, but we got along so well that we soon became good friends. We had lunch together so often that people asked if we were married! I've seen her each time I've returned to NH and we still keep in touch. She's one of the sweetest people you could ever meet.

Evie and I, down on the farm.

After 7 years in New Hampshire I decided to go back home to Pennsylvania. I'd been through a divorce, a bad breakup after that, my Grandparents were getting up there in years and I'd reconnected with my old high school pal Dawn. I decided I needed a change. I left NH behind, loaded up a moving truck and began the next chapter in my life.

That's right, this is my first 2-Part blog!!!! Oooooh suspense! Cliffhanger! Will Paul make new friends back in his home state? Will Paul finally find a career? Tune in next time! Same Paul time, same Paul channel!

Pat Draper. One of the funniest guys I've ever known.

Marissa Berry. She trained me at Circuit City. On the end of my first day she said she couldn't love me any more if I'd fallen out of her own vagina!

Sarah Stingel. We also met through Circuit Shitty. She's a wizard with home theater hookup!