Tag: <span>new york</span>

Pine Bush High School
Pine Bush High School

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

I had the distinct experience of attending my forty-year high school class reunion several weeks ago. It was the first reunion I’ve been to, and it brought up a flood of memories and feelings I haven’t dealt with since graduation.

I grew up in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, attending schools in the Farmingdale school district from Kindergarten until end of my high school sophomore year. In 1972 we moved from Farmingdale to the “upstate” Hudson Valley region of New York. I graduated from Pine Bush High School in June of 1974.

Ron Charest

An Empty Big Box Store - File Photo
An Empty Big Box Store – File Photo

This is a story about a car breakdown, a “Big Box” retail store, and customer service.

Several weeks ago I had to make a weekend trip to mom’s house in the Hudson Valley area of upstate New York. I left on a Friday morning driving my venerable 2004 Rodeo, and arrived late afternoon. I spent Saturday performing the odd jobs which was the reason for my trip. I left for home 6:30 Sunday morning, and this is where my story starts.

Opinions & Commentary

I was up at Mom’s house in the Hudson Valley region of New York this past weekend, and had a chance to spend a few hours kayaking. I chose to paddle the Bashakill (from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning “riverbed” or “water channel), and it turned out to be a great choice!

Family Stories

On Loosing A Hammer and Standing Up to People

Chapter 1

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a hammer that I lost over 35 years ago.  Rather, I’ve been thinking about losing that hammer and how I lost it.  It involves my maternal grandfather, a school play, and a high school teacher whom I still consider to be one of the most inept teachers I suffered through during my entire public school career.

Ron Charest

Family Stories

Car Travel Cartoon
Car Travel

Winnie and I successfully completed a week’s worth of traveling, visiting family, and sight seeing. We returned home late Saturday evening, July 7, after a 13 hour trip from Massachusetts. It was a really nice week, but also more tiring than I expected. It’s taken until now for me to feel rested again, ready to get back into the old routine.

Or perhaps, it’s really that I haven’t wanted to get back into the old routine again…

Family Stories