It was really difficult to even think about moving. I think I went through a pretty long Scarlett O'Hara or an Annie phase where I just simply decided to think about it tomorrow. It was rather difficult as Wes and Wally spread the word around town pretty quickly.
Riverton was an interesting community as it was not one with very many transient families. They did not warm up well to people who moved in and moved out. Riverton was bounded by the Delaware River, Palmyra, Riverside and Cinnaminson and in that one square mile people were born, grew up, married and died never leaving the city limits. Sis grew up on Howard Street, married and lived in an apartment in a house three doors from her family home and moved back to the family home when her parents needed assistance. That is why it took me a long time and lots of volunteer work to become an acceptable member of the community
Dennis went off to work in Detroit the first of April with the thought that we should start packing and move in a couple of weeks. Sorry, the boys were not going to be out of school until the middle of June, my classes and test would keep me busy until the middle of May and there was just simply no way I was going to leave before school was over.
It took a lot of talking to the boys and letting them understand that everything was going to be fine. That wasn't easy when I actually looked at moving as the end of the world. But somehow I managed to keep things fairly normal just for them. Spring baseball signups helped make that a little easier.
I will be the first to admit that my children were not great athletes. Wes had played soccer and baseball for seven or eight years. He did play on a championship soccer team but for the most part he was the kid who tried spectaculars plays that never seemed to work out. Wally was the little kid at the wrong end of the soccer field playing with the dirt clods oblivious to what was going on in the game. He was also the one who always struck out in baseball and burst into tears at home plate. The entire team would rush out to console him so I did not have visions of glory for either one of them. Little league wrestling was too funny to even try to describe.
When baseball signups for the Riverton/Palmyra League rolled around they were anxious to join in again. Going to the meeting there was a discussion about starting up a girl's softball league. This met with mixed reactions from the male coaches but they finally decided to have one. In watching coaches through the years I had noticed that it was always the coaches son's who got the positions of pitcher or catcher or as I termed them - the star positions. There never seemed to be a lot of teaching little boys who wanted to pitch a lot of training so they could learn. If a boy was not amazing the first day of practice he was sent to the outfield or sat on the bench most of the time.
Since the men who had daughters seemed to be volunteering to coach I figured it would be the same old thing so I, who did not have a daughter or ever played softball in my life, stuck my hand up to coach. I envisioned a team where every girl could play any position and decide what they did best. In other words no favoritism and fun.
Before the signups for the girls Wes spent a lot of time in the front yard teaching me how to throw a softball. I knew how to bat. I played baseball as a kid which was why I had bandages on both knees from playing baseball at recess and went home everyday with the hems torn out of my dresses all through grade school. After all my brother had even hit me in the head and knocked me out when I played catcher once. That had to give me credit for knowing a lot about the catcher position. At the end of the signups I had a team of ten girls ages six to twelve, a bag of bats and balls, a catchers outfit and a couple of gloves.
Even had a mother who wanted to help and the surprise addition of five year old Mary Ellen.
I got a real surprise one day when I went to Physics class. There was to be a Physics symposium in Newark and Dr. Grey, who for the most part scared the you-know-what out of me, asked another male student and I to go to the symposium with him. ME, of all people! Naturally I felt honored and said yes even though I was not sure what a symposium even was. On the appointed day we rode to Newark in Dr, Grey's very well worn VW camper. Interesting vehicle for a Physics instructor and he explained how he and his family went wilderness camping in the Catskills. Wilderness camping may not have been appropriate in most VW campers but his fit the bill.
The symposium was a day of Physics displays and lectures a lot of which were way over my head but Dr. Grey carefully explained everything. On the way home we had a flat tire on the Jersey Turnpike and no spare. We must have been quite a sight sitting in the grass waiting for someone to stop and help. Luckily a fellow VW owner came by and gave us his spare to get home with. Needless to say it was quite a day and one that ended up being filled with laughter with someone I was not sure even knew how to smile.
Dennis was not having much luck at finding a house that was suitable. Seems like none of the ones he had seen came with suitable garages.
Then he had also been informed that no one lived in Dearborn. Wait! Wasn't Dearborn the home of Ford Motor Company? Wasn't that where Henry Ford had lived? Weren't all the stories about Henry Ford and his refusal to let any Jews live in the city limits about Dearborn? Were there not nice neighborhoods and tree lined streets? Oh, no one lived in Detroit either. I suggested that maybe it would be easier to just live in Riverton and commute. That did not go over too well except that I made him mad enough that he didn't talk to me for several days which was nice.
I did tell Mom about the impending move. She was not happy and wanted to get on a plane the same day to come and visit. She liked seeing all the sights and going to New York. I told her to wait until May to come as the last thing I needed was to spend time entertaining Mother. The one thing I did not do was to tell Barney about the move. He would come to see me no matter where I lived so that was no big deal. The reason I did not tell him was that in the few quiet times I had there were thoughts that perhaps I would not be moving. How I was going to pull that one off was a real mystery but I was working on several plans.
Then there was my friend from high school in Muskogee, Lisa, who kept telling me how I could not miss my 20th class reunion which was to take place in the fall. I had the flyer about the reunion and decided to send in my money as I really wanted to go. Who knew where I would be by fall but at least I would be signed up to go.
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