I’ve spoken about the dialect of northeast Pennsylvania before, but now I’ve got examples! I heard about this YouTube video when I was driving to Philadelphia last weekend and listening to the radio station David and I always tuned into, besides NPR. The DJ mentioned that his friend made this video poking fun of the [...]

May 31, 2008
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Here’s to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

* rant alert *
I have opined time and time again that U.S. border guards (at both airport and land points of entry) are ill-informed, inconsistent, and have far too much discretionary power.
Here’s another example of what I’m talking about:
U.S. border guards bar skilled Canadian from his job - CBC, March 31, 2008
Technician says increased [...]

…the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania by blynaffit
Click on the picture for the answer. Thanks to blynaffit for letting me use her picture.
See also David’s description of his city from the Flickr group “Praise and Curse of the City” two years ago:
I love that my immigrant grandparents made a life here, and my memories [...]

One of David’s best days during his illness was September 10, 2005, when he had enough strength to attend a model airplane fly-in and airshow in Waymart, a visit to nearby St. Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, and tuck into the barbecue at Kundla’s Open Pit BBQ.
Dave’s Logbook: OK, back to the fun!
He wrote [...]

Specifically, Neil, Breigh, and the newly-married Tanya. I’m conveniently located near the CBC Shop, purveyors of fine Canadiana for possible Christmas gifts. I’m taking requests!

After returning to Toronto for one day after three weeks in Vancouver, I got in my car and drove from Toronto to Scranton, Scranton to Ambler, Ambler to Philadelphia, Philly to Scranton, Scranton to Rhinebeck, then Rhinebeck to Toronto in about six days. On Wednesday alone I drove about a third of that — [...]

Inconvenient: Canadian banks will hold a U.S. dollar cheque issued by a U.S. bank for up to 30 days before clearing it.
Ludicrous: American banks won’t accept a U.S. dollar cheque/check issued by a Canadian bank, fullstop. Or any bank in the world outside the U.S., for that matter.
I have a U.S. dollar bank account. I [...]

Canadian border
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Friday, June 2, 01:45
Canadian Border Services officer: “Where do you live?”
Me (stifling yawn): “Toronto and Vancouver.”
Officer: “How long were you in the U.S.?”
Me: “Four days.”
Officer: “What goods are you bringing back to Canada with you?”
Me: (pause) “Cat food*.” (Neither Rachael nor I bought anything.)
The officer looked away for a moment, trying to [...]

I was looking for that photo I mentioned in the previous post, the first one I took of David, and I found this.
It’s a shot I took back in October 2004, the weekend we met. We were on our way to Cherry Ridge to take out the Tri-Pacer, and Lake Ariel is one of the [...]