Bethlehem

        When I was Tonio's age, I truly thought that my home town, Bethlehem, Pa, was the birth place of Jesus.  Yes I did.  How special, eh?  I thought so.  And up there, on top of South Mountain (more of a hill, really) was the Star of Bethlehem - PROOF! 

          I don't remember when, exactly, it was that I realized that there was a Bethlehem in some country called Isreal, where Jesus was really born.  I do remember realizing that our forefathers, who were desparate to get our of the old country, had absolutely no creativity when it came to naming places in the new country!

        I have some great pictures to share with you.  Of Bethlehem.  Pa.  Where Kim and I started.  Thanks to her niece, OUR niece, Niki.  She took time out of her busy life to capture these timeless, treasured places where so many memories of Kim and I and our youth are still alive...

        Niki is the loving mother of two, with her husband Matt.  She is the carbon copy of Kimmy - in looks, in heart and in spirit.  A wonderful woman.  I am blessed to have her in my life.  And here are the memories that Niki so lovingly captured for me to share with you:

        Here's where it all began.  715 5th Ave.  3 blocks or so from my house.  Downhill, so that it was conducive for skateboard transport (quick getting there, which was important...slow going back uphill so I could reflect on Kim).  In the early days, we rarely left the front porch...preferring to sit there talking.  Kim's bedroom, like mine, was on the 3rd floor.  Back in those days, we had no A/C up there.  It got pretty hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter.  So what?  My buddy, Jimmy Kromer, lived in the house to the right of Kim's.  His bedroom window faced the side window in Kim's closet.  Back in 1984, when I was trying to convince Kimmy to get back with me for good, I remember talking to her from Jimmy's window...her sweet, smiling face beckoning...I could have lept from Jimmy's window through Kim's...and died trying...
                                         
              This is the back alley, where the garage was.  On these cement pads, if we only had a short time together, we'd set out little lawn chairs and get some sun together...It was also the back alley that I'd choose to drop Kim off at night...a little more private...and darker, than the front entrance.  We'd walk between the garages to say our goodnights...

              And here is Nitschmann Junior High (now Middle School), where Kimmy and I went and were in classes together.  We'd walk there and enter into in the right hand doorway.  There used to be a Boys entrance and a Girls entrance, before our time, thankfully.  The entrances had the gender engraved in the stone above the doorway.
                                          
           This is a civil war statue in the Rose Garden, across the street from Nitschmann.  Kim and I would walk through the roses and bring picnics here.  We'd often come at night to see band concerts and chase lightning bugs...
          And then there was Liberty High School.  Here's our football stadium.  We saw many games there together.  And they used to set off the fireworks from here.  We'd lay together on the soccer field and they would explode right over our heads.

                    Here's the main entrance. I'd wait for Kim after school near the black fencing.  Or across the street, from where Niki is taking this photo.  There was a drug store, called Kostas.  They had old fashioned fountain sodas and I'd buy Kimmy a vanilla or cherry coke for our walk home...two miles of bliss....

                This is the Language Arts building...the 'catwalk' that connects this building to the main building was not covered when Kim and I went there and you had to brave the rains and snows...we'd go to the ground level, where the library was, and cut across the bottom.  There was also a science building and the the gym, band room, weight room, etc. building.

              The Boyd theatre...where Kim and I saw such classics as "Herbie Rides Again"  and "Come Home Snoopy"...we'd pay $.75 or so to see first run shows, walking the 6 blocks or so to downtown Bethlehem.  It was a big, one screen theatre with a balcony.

            Here's Main St, viewed from Niki's car...Kim and I would come here often...I bought her engagement ring (that now hangs around my neck) at Musselman's on Main.  We'd go to a little mom and pop bagel shop here for breakfast.  My cousin, Josh, worked at a pastry shop, baking, on Main and he'd give us incredible pastries that he'd made.

           Sim's was a little market, on the corner of 5th and Broad, that our parent used to send us to for small amounts of groceries.  I'd love it when I'd run into Kim there...It used to be called Steve's.  I think Steve became the manager or the butcher or something when bought out by Sim's.  I could make it to Sim's via alleyways, virtually unseen.  Not sure why that was important...but, at the time, it sure seemed to be...

                   The Bethlehem Steel...once, the second largest steel producer in the WORLD.  Golden Gate Bridge?  Bethlehem Steel.  Our Dad's both worked here making the steel!

                The Star of Bethlehem...that drew the three wise man to baby Jesus...nestled atop South Mountain...Niki took a great night shot of this!  I was always fascinated by it as a kid.

It's hard to see during the daylight, but, atop the mountain, nearly dead center, you can see a nitch cut in the trees.  Kim and I once hiked up there to get a close up look at the star.  It was an Autumn day (yes, that is what inspired us to name Autumn, Autumn!) and the leaves were so bright - reds, yellows, oranges...in the crisp air...

That's it.  We sure enjoyed growing up there...but loved the move we made to Tucson so much, that we never looked back....

Today, 7/13, marks the 7 month anniversary of Kimmy's passing...time flies.  I received an invoice today, from the City of Tucson, from Kimmy's final ambulance ride to St. Joseph's.  I noticed that the date of service was 12/13...and the miles travled?  13. 

I woke Autumn, Lexy and Hadley today, at 11:00.  They told me they finally fell asleep at 5:00.  I had gone out at 4 and reminded them that I needed to get Lexy to Angie's house in the a.m. and Autumn to her teacher's classroom, Casey, to help set up for school.  I made them pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns.  We got to see Angie - she is doing so good, keep the prayers coming!  Her knee replacement is healing well.  The afternoon helping Casey and Julie Shivonanda set up their classrooms was nice.  Dedicated teachers.  And it was good to be back on campus with such positive people...

At the end of the day, following 7 months without Kimmy, I reflected on all I have to be thankful for...

Showers.  My Southwest family, who continues to buoy our spirits.  Teachers.  Healthy bambini!  The time I did share with Kimmy.

There you go.

Love,

 Dave