More Treasures

 

I spent today at home.

OK, most of today. I realized I didn't buy milk when I drove home last night so I had to run to the gas station/convenience store/deli where Bryant Pond Road meets the Taconic State Parkway.

So quick side note. That intersection looks so decidedly different from, let's say, 30-35 years ago. The Taconic used to meet Bryant Pond at...wait for it...a stop sign.

That's it. A grade-level junction of Bryant Pond Road, which becomes Secor Road and takes travelers to the Lake Secor area and beyond before reaching NY 6N which will take you to "downtown" (we never called it that) Mahopac.

Indeed, it was called "Lake Mahopac" way back. Now we just call it "town."

I'll stay on this digression. Before 1980, the intersection had only a flashing light and a split in the guard rail, meaning drivers had to stop in the left lane to turn towards Secor Rd when coming southbound. Post-'80, the intersection had weird turn lanes and a center through lane. No, that didn't work. I raced through there a few times after becoming a driver.

You know, 9 p.m. curfew and all with a junior license.

My dad didn't live long enough to see the whole thing blown up and redone as an interchange (now Exit 23) with ramps. The blinking lights are all gone.

Gone also are the old State Troopers barracks and the Getty gas station that my buddy Scott worked in and the Interlaken Motel and a few other buildings. My grandparents would stay at the Interlaken or the place across the street when they'd visit. That building is still there but is no longer a motel. It does have a restaurant -- Char -- which I hear is fairly popular.

And, now, it has Flory's (the gas/convenience store) and a small plaza across the street. The nearby corner of Wood St. and Bryant Pond was also redone, eliminating a weird fork in the road. It's now a four-way stop.

Oh, and the Flory of Flory's started as a small Mobil station/garage in Lake Secor.

Did I mention my grandparents lived in Lake Secor? 

I know, wild digressions here but I won't apologize.

It's not like I'm giving you a breakdown of the other Secor businesses. Yet.

I guess this is what will happen as we reach the end of the line at the house that has stood since 1963.

It was my turn to go into the attic today and I did a little damage.

My patent's attic was kind of, as one would expect, a holding area for memories and items that probably need to be parted with.

As such, there was still a bag of stuffed animals that weren't Sean's. Oh, his are up there also and their day of reckoning is coming.

No, these were mine.

- The Jolly Green Giant (seriously).

- An original Burger King (he was a lot more, er, jolly).

- A Jimmie Walker that once said "DYNOMITE!" when you pulled a string (fairly progressive for the 70s).

- My beloved Casper the Friendly Ghost.

- A Hamburgler from McDonald's.

But, of course, there were the Big Three.

- A talking Bugs Bunny (no longer talking).

- Fred Flintstone (sans some of the hair I cut years ago).

- My first Mickey Mouse.

Pictures were taken before we parted. Time (and, let's be honest, too many years in attics) had weathered and damaged them. The pictures make them look much better than they actually are. This was not some sad "Toy Story" moment. There was to be no resurrection where they could go to another child. Time had simply stepped in and said enough.

This scene will play out again and again as the process plays on. I'm deciding on what to do with things like CDs and books and too many other things. 

I'm planning to go through all of the CDs and make the tough choices. You can guess who wouldn't get discarded for sure. Then there are other albums that are meaningful. It will be a fun job.

There will most likely be a tag sale at the end of April, and it will be OK.

This is necessary. Downsizing is a good thing.

The memories are priceless. Everything else is stuff.

It's cathartic.

And it is good.