Coudersport, Pennsylvania

Early Snow Flurries

10/29/08 in the early evening and snow is already in the air.

Clearfield, Pennsylvania

Thanks for Traveling

These signs seemed ubiquitous at travel-oriented businesses beginning shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. I hadn't seen one for several years but found them in generous supply at a carefully kept, very cheap motel last week in central PA.

Marienville, Pennsylvania

Signs That Get Our Attention

Honesdale, Pennsylvania

More Halloween

For reasons I've never determined, Halloween is a bigger deal in northeastern Pennsylvania that it is in many other places, certainly bigger than in nearby southern New England where I live. It's been several years since I had a chance to travel through PA this time of year but I got to spend the last three days of the month there this year. There was a lot of Halloween decoration, but most of it was really disappointing. Compared to years ago, hand-made family projects seem to have given way wholesale to plastic junk straight from Wal-Mart. But these are a few home-grown displays.

Towanda, Pennsylvania

Towanda, Pennsylvania

11/5/08 Addendum

Torrington, Connecticut

The word is that all around the country, in big city markets the news stands and vending machines ran out of papers headlining the news of the big election results yesterday. In smaller towns here in western CT that didn't seem to be the case. But there was still something gratifying about seeing the banner headline on the largest of the local papers, the oddly-named Waterbury Republican American.

Coudersport, Pennsylvania

Downtown

There used to be a small branch of a huge department store chain on Main Street, Coudersport, PA, right in the middle of town. But no more.

Coudersport, Pennsylvania

Geistown, Pennsylvania

Traditional Political Advice

A classic theater like The Silver Drive-in near Johnstown, PA, might as well keep up the old traditions in other ways as well. I grew up in New Jersey, straight west from New York City. About halfway in between was Jersey City, NJ, a municipality famous for its political and economic...eccentricities. These included having more than one mayor carry out his duties and win re-election while behind bars. At election time my father always kept repeating, "Well, as they say in Jersey City, vote early and often!"

West Burlington, Pennsylvania

Church and State

Perhaps there are several ways to think of this. The admirably brief text of the sign seems to advocate prayer as informative prelude to voting. Seems to me though that for a lot of people looking toward tomorrow's electoral exercise, the order might be reversed. They'll be voting, and then praying that their votes are counted accurately—good luck with those touch screen voting machines—and that it somehow comes out right.

Towanda, Pennsylvania

Trick or Treat!

Friday, Halloween, someone decided to put a couple of scarecrow figures in storefront windows on Main Street in Towanda, Pa. They equipped the scarecrows with John McCain and Sarah Palin masks. What struck me as odd was just exactly who did this—it was the GOP Campaign Committee Headquarters.

I included my reflection to say, "I approved this message."

Towanda, Pennsylvania

Torrington, Connecticut

Seagulls