Bruce down, but not out for sure.

I met Bruce in 1967, I was working part time at Dave and Joe's speed shop behind their american gas station on route 501 in Lancaster. About two or three miles from my parents house, I worked there nights and weekends. I usually had a part time job at a gas station in those days so I had a garage with a lift to work on my car. It was late fall, and it was cold, but not too bad. I was on the cycle as usual and bruce's car needed some work and he needed a ride home. Davie asked me if I could run Bruce home and I said sure since I was leaving anyway! Bruce did not have a very warm jacket on, but at that young age, we had good circulation yet and made the ride with not much shriveling. Little did I know Bruce and I would be lifetime friends. We started running around together.

Our first trip together was to the shore on my bike. We rode at night because we could make better time. I don't remember much about the trip down to Wildwood, but on the way home sunday night we ran late and stopped to catch 20 winks. We were startled awake by about ten guys and I thought that we were going to be in a fight. It turns out they just wanted to look at my bike, and maybe a race to see which was faster my bike or his car. We hung around there for about an hour shooting the bull and left without a scratch. We stayed awake all weekend having fun, but when we got home Sunday night Bruce had to work all night at the Sunoco station on Columbia Avenue. I stayed most of the night too. We spent a lot of nights at the gas station all night talking. When your young you don't need much sleep!

Another time Bruce and I were traveling route 30 into York and I was following a big t-bird and we went into some construction and the road dropped about 6 inches without any sign or anything. The t-bird bottomed out on the stone surface and we came flying behind and when I hit the brakes we were in mid air, no traction. Luckily we landed and had some bight to stop my bike! Another time a few years later Bruce and I went to Maryland to do some drinking. Their drinking age was 18 ours in Pa was 21. It was winter and we hopped from bar to bar stopping when we got cold. At 3:00 in the morning the bars closed. We were about 50 miles from home. It was a long cold ride home with no place to warn up. Needless to say we learned a good lesson again. Don't venture too far from home bar hopping when it is cold.

I did not hear from Bruce for a couple of weeks, Bruce and Dave and I meet saturday mornings for breakfast. I called every three or four days figuring he was busy. I was waiting at the eye doctor this afternoon and finally got ahold of him. Here he had a stroke at work at the Manheim Auto Auction and spent two weeks in the hospital. I am picking him up tomorrow he can't drive for a while and we are going for breakfast. Maybe after to get some vittles since he has to stay home and can't go to the diner every day like he likes to do. Yes I was at the eye doctor, I have a floater in my right eye. Old age strikes again, the fluid in my eye is coagulating and being not transparent in one place and I see a place where the light does not pass right and I see a mark in my vision. She said the retina does not look damaged, But I must go back in six weeks for a check again. Its bad enough this winter I had to battle Mother Nature a lot, now old man age is fighting me too. Like Mick Jaeger sings" Its a drag getting old" But it sure beats the alternative!

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