Clarion - 30. Chapter 30

The gym was a success, college students as well as a few high school students signed up for the use of the gym. Some of the local business owners and staff also found out the benefits of working out. Cody spent a lot of time there after school, working with Tony and the kids. Cody liked working with the kids, it got to the point whenever we were in town and they saw him, we would hear, ‘Hey Cody’ with a hand wave.

Soon it came time to consider summer vacation, there were a few things we could do, tour Mexico, go back to Canada, go to a dude ranch or just stay home and check out the activities within a day’s ride. That night at dinner, I mentioned these options to the boys, which resulted in a lively discussion. Andy and Rich dropped by when we were having dessert. I swear they could smell the pie a mile away.

“See Rich, I told you we’d be in time for dessert.”

“You’re always in time for dessert.”

“Andy, what should we do for summer vacation this year, Dad has given us some choices, tour Mexico, tour Canada, dude ranch or just stay home and take advantages of day trips. What do you think?”

“Mexico sounds like fun, but if it was my choice I'd stay home this year. There are a lot of things we can do, like go fishing, go to Erie or drive to Niagara Falls. There are a lot of carnivals and caves to explore. We could have a lot of fun doing those things.”

I just sat back and listened to them discuss the choices. James said he would like to try horseback riding, Andy said there will be horseback riding in Cook Forest. Nels said he would like to investigate a historical fort in Canada, and so it went. The ultimate decision, stay home and do day trips.

When school was out, the boys sat down and started to plan out day trips. I allowed one over night if there was something that we wanted to see and it was too far for a day trip. That allowance of one overnight, allowed us to go to Canada to check out the fort where the US lost a battle to the Canadians when we tried to annex a part of Canada. It allowed us to go to Hershey, Pennsylvania and see how they make the chocolate, we left with a bag of chocolate kisses. The boys had fun, “Pop, want a kiss?” Cody would say yes, open his mouth for the chocolate kiss, Nels would give him a kiss on the cheek.

We spent the evening at the Hershey amusement park and stayed over at a motel close by. We drove to several caves, to Pittsburgh and Kenny Wood Park. We saw a ball game, went fishing on Lake Erie, and spent a day at Niagara Falls and took a ride on the Lady of the Mist. We had dinner on the Canadian side atop the restaurant overlooking the Falls. Andy and Rich took the boys horseback riding as well as fishing in the trout streams. I spent some time, checking out the berry bushes to see if they ripe enough to pick. Noah finally finished my dining table. It was a beautiful table and the chairs matched perfectly. Laughing he told me that this was the longest time he had ever spent on making a piece of furniture.

Summer was drawing to a close. We enjoyed our grill a lot and the boys got really good at grilling. Now I had three grill chefs in my home. Berry picking time came and Nels and I tackled that job, Nels drove the ATV to the berry bushes. When the baskets were full, he would drive back to the house, empty the baskets and bring them back for more.

The nut gathering was Cody and James’s job. James drove the ATV and repeated what Nels did, when the baskets were filled with the nuts, he drove back home, empty the baskets onto the tarp and returned with the empty baskets. This we did till we had enough berries and nuts. I still had some nuts from last year so I didn’t need as many. Berries were something else, but Nels saw some birds eating the berries, so we had to leave some for them.

The evenings started to get a little chilly but the boys said it was fishing time. The fish would bite anything since the bugs were diminished and their food supply was getting low. They were right. Every day they went fishing they brought home their legal quota of trout. The freezer was getting full of trout and I was expecting Abram with the meat soon. I wanted to give some of the trout to Mary, she said her freezer was full as well. Andy had brought home quite a bit. I gave some of the trout to Tony and then I had to teach him how to cook the trout, also how to be cautious of the bones. Doing one of these lessons, he told me that Sharon really like the trout he fixed. Now I knew the name of the girl Tony was seeing, Sharon.

This would be Cody’s last year at Clarion College. He had put his application for a teaching job at several schools in the area. He interviewed at Shippenville and accepted a teaching job there. The boys continued to do well in school, Andy was looking forward to being a junior with an eye to college. Jeff and Nancy Jean were looking at graduation and getting married. Life has a way of creeping up on you. It seemed like it was only yesterday that I moved into my Clarion retreat.

Tony was happy with the salary arrangement and the house I bought. He was dating Sharon and in fact, I expected to see an engagement ring shortly. Under his management, the gym was doing well. He offered specials to the summer crowds, which provided a boost to the income since the winter crowd was mostly locals and a few young hunters.

I continued to make my trips to New York for Board meetings which I began to enjoy. It was good to keep in touch with the people with whom I spent a lot of my working time. We bought James a motor bike similar to the one we had bought for Andy. He was delighted. Nels said he deserved it because he always looked out for him. I don’t think Nels will not ever want the best for James, he remembers how James took care of him before they moved into our homes, our lives and our hearts.

Our holidays were spent with friends. Mary and Brian became very close friends and we expanded our group to include Nancy Jean’s family as well. We not only spent the holidays together but we also spent family celebrations together, birthdays accounted for quite a few of those occasions to celebrate.

As I sit in front of the fireplace, watching the flames do their crazy dance, mesmerizing those who dare to stare. I came to the conclusion that the best decision I ever made, was to leave New York and settle in this quiet little town on the Clarion River. It has brought me peace, but more important it has brought me love, love of a partner, love of children and the love of friends. I thought I was rich with the money I had, but that richness was nothing compared to the richness I have in my family and friends. Richness of life isn’t money, it’s the love that is returned to you from those around you. I was truly a rich and blessed man as I look at Nels as he comes and sits beside me.