The Salem Diner

I love a good diner.  I always have. When I was little my Grandmother's sister and her friends owned a diner..It was always so much fun spending time there.  Fortunately for me, my friend Dina, loves a good diner also.  So often when we go out on our Friday morning jaunts, we might end up in a diner if we come across one.  This diner though, is special for so many reasons and I was just beside myself to be there.  I was amazed at how many memories it stirred up for me and how nostalgic it was. Truth be told, I should have been to this one a very long time ago..but another truth, I'm so happy we were there on this day.

The Salem Diner is a historic Sterling Streamliner diner. It's one of only two Sterling Streamliners left in New England, The other Sterling is in Rhode Island.  Sterling Streamliners were made by the J.B. Judkins Company of Merrimac, MA. They built diners from 1936 to 1942. It sits on it's original site on Loring Ave...just across from Salem State College.  I was born and brought up in Salem, but until Dina and I went there a few weeks ago, I had never been inside this diner.  After eating there and meeting the people, I must add it to my list of "should have done this sooner"...but then again, thankfully we made it before it was knocked down or fell down because it was really old in there but I was just so happy to be there.  

So here it is in all it's turquoise and pink. Oh my, right out of the fifties. Everything and I mean everything, from the ceiling to the lights, the swivel counter stools, the counter itself and of course the booths.  I'm not sure about the grill but I'll check that out the next time.  For a full five minutes, I couldn't stop looking around and taking it all in.  Do you know how rare this is, to find a piece of history still intact, and I was just so giddy about the color.  

So here we are in the only booth left.  I'm so happy we got this booth.  We are actually sitting in the front of the Streamliner. Our table is in the middle of the front end, hence the shape. So there we sat, next to each other, the perfect spot for great people watching, counter talking and dishes flying out from the kitchen and grill.  Check out the curtains, they look pretty original.  Well, I did check out the curtains and it was pretty sketchy up there.  I told Dina to have a look.  We could see daylight and a few other things we didn't recognize...LOL, so we just looked ahead.  We both had the homemade hash with eggs and it came with all the fixings...and my, my, it was so good.  We both got the clean plate award.

 

Check out the menu...the prices are very good for all that food.  I think we walked out of there for $20.00 and that included a good tip.  Honestly, the menu design is straight from the 50/60's also.  I wanted to take one home for old times sake but Dina wouldn't let me...

It was a special morning at the diner and although we were fascinated by the vintage feel of the place, there was also a sense of today there that you would not have found in the 60's. Kids still playing with their I-phones, and a take out order waiting to be picked up.  You can hold on to the past but the here and now is always present, as it should be I guess.  For me though, I loved being in a place that brought back the excitement of my youth, my high school years and talking to people who sat so close to us, eating their breakfast also and sharing our stories from the past.  

So you might ask, why was this my first trip here.  Why didn't we hang out here when we were young and this lovely diner was new.  It's simple, we had no car and we had no money.  This was not within walking distance to my house or my life.  It was very much out of the way.  Mostly though, back in my younger days, not many "regular people" went out for breakfast. Actually, we didn't go out to eat very much at all.  Only on special occasions.  As I look back now, I wonder where my Mom even got the money for those special dinners...that were eaten at noon time. By the way, noon time was dinner, five o'clock was supper.  Hmm, I wonder when that changed.  See what I mean, it brings back so much.  Even still, the times we did go out were lovely and remembered, even today.  Today, kids go out so much it's not special to them at all.  More routine.

So that's my story for today...What I know for sure is, I will go back.  I have to take Jim.  We will have a great breakfast and I know we will spend our time there sharing old stories..only the stories that him and I will understand and laugh about. I hope we get to sit in the same booth that Dina and I did.  If not for Yankee magazine last month I might not have made it here but I did and it was a wonderful trip down memory lane...one thing though, I do wish they had donuts and desserts.  No Pie.  Desserts are usually a highlight at most diners.  I'm not going to tell them that though...

"A poet could write volumes about diners, because they're so beautiful. They're brightly lit, with chrome and booths and Naugahyde and great waitresses. Now, it might not be so great in the health department, but I think diner food is really worth experiencing periodically."

David Lynch

Summer Vacation...2013

 I've got a list...it's long.  I'll never get it all done but I want to try.  Summer is moving fast and here it is August already and my personal list of projects have been sitting, waiting from me to arrive and rescue them. In rescuing them, I'll be rescuing myself.  I'm pretty much always last on my list.  I've been thinking lately that I want to move me up to the top of that list, at least for the rest of the summer...So until Labor Day I'll be pretty much working on what I love doing in the summer...which is so much more than my computer. The top photo might give you a hint that relaxing and enjoying life's little treats might be in my very near future...hmm, maybe not so many more brownies but certainly a bit of lace and soft prettiness.

 I will spend more time taking photo's outside for myself...my love of photography has always been in Nature and so I'll get back to doing more of that..I also plan to really work hard learning some new skills in my classes this summer.   Still life has become a new love of mine..who knew?   The other thing I'm going to do and this is just so exciting...is I'm starting this month, hopefully tomorrow, to shot in raw.  I must say I'm bit intimated by that process but I think it's time for me to give it an honest try.   It's time to step out of the box and know that I am capable of at least trying..maybe it will move my photography up a notch.  Let's hope so.   I have learned over my many years...nothing is etched in stone and no decision has to be final.   Of course I'd love to find a few photo Buddies to go shooting with...I'm pretty sure I've got that one covered.

They say laughter is good for the soul and the heart.  I have several people in my life that just make me laugh whenever I am with them.  I will surround myself with people that bring joy and laughter to me daily.  Life is full of bad news, pain, and sometimes sickness.  There are things we can't get away from but I think if we try, each day, to find something to smile about and give thanks for all the good we do have, our lives can be full and so can our hearts...Let's call it Heart Therapy and no lessons necessary.   Maybe just really good thoughts.

To be amongst long standing, trustworthy friends is a gift.  I have been so fortunate in my friendships.   I have many longstanding, wonderful Girlfriends that I could not have lived without.   I never had a sister and when I was young I used to feel bad about that but not anymore.   I have "hand picked" the ones that I would call sister and we are closer than most sisters I know.. This summer I will spend more time with them, doing all the things that crazy girlfriends do together..Dina, is one of my longest standing Girlfriends and was the Maid of Honor at my wedding...we have been walking our path together for 50 years...it is such an easy relationship now...her and I do go out every Friday for breakfast and then "thrift store" shopping...so much fun...but I need to tend the garden of my other friends...being busy is not an excuse this summer...mark the calendar and go...and by the way, this wonderful journey that I am on here on the computer has given me such lovely friends also...some I have met and some I have talked to and some I just see in my streams but they all are woven into my life now and I value each one...and those friends are not all girls...Let's hear it for the men in our circle of Friendship.

 

On those really hot sunny, summer days..I'm going to be catching a breeze..either riding on the lake in the boat or perhaps on the open road driving my antique car, Stellar, around the small country roads of Maine.   I feel just being outside, with the wind in my hair, rather refreshing and youthful.   I really don't believe in the summer we have to act our age...our age is whatever we feel, on the inside, on any given day.   Of course that's another benefit of being "senior"....we don't give a fig anymore what people think of us...Just so freeing. Catch a breeze however you like...I think Liam has found his own way...smart kid, takes after his Nana...

 

Oh and one of my favorite all time summer treats is "nap taking"..that could be why I have a screened porch on both of my houses...late afternoon, sun going lower in the sky, all is quiet, even the birds.   A gentle breeze carries through the boughs of the hemlock trees and my mind does the dance of summer slumber.   It's not a long nap, perhaps 20 minutes but its the feel of the warm, the openness of the windows and the slight sounds of a hot summer day.   No nap is like a summer nap.   Then there are those rare days,  hot, hot, hot that just beg for the gentle movement of the hammock in the back yard, lakeside.  Have mercy on my gentle soul,  I'm in love with summer naps...

You know, the list goes on and on for me...I want to read a million books before September.   Be up to date on all my classes, learn new things about photography, plan and set up Still Life shots, oh my, I bought some cheese cloth today.  Ideas are running in my head for photo's, light, balance, it's all good right now.  No dark days of winter.   I want to play with my babies, have intelligent and fun conversations with my grown kids. Swim, bake and nest.   Knit sweaters for Christmas gifts and so much more....how can you be bored in this life. Probably the other thing that I should do is give my mind a rest...it's always running somewhere...

So I know it all won't get accomplished but I'm going to try to do some of everything so my computer time will be less.. I will keep up my lessons, work on my blog, and in general do only those things that make me feel good and in control.   I will check on you all often...you might not know it but I do love looking and seeing all that you do..you so inspire me to do much more than I ever though possible.  I won't be far away...just behind the sun...watching over all of you and hoping you all accomplish your summer dreams also...

Perhaps if you visit you could leave me a note about a wish you have for yourself for the summer...whatever it is just enjoy the process...

"The beach is not the place to work; read; write or think. I should have remember that from other years.  To warm, to damp, to soft for any mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit. One never learns.  Hopefully one carries down the faded straw bag, lumpy with books, clean paper, long over-due unanswered letters, freshly sharpened pencils, lists and good intentions. The books remain unread, the pencils break their points, the pads rest smooth and unblemished as the cloudless sky. No reading, no writing, no thoughts even...at least not at first.  At first..the tired body takes   over completely."  Gifts from the Sea..Anne Morrow Lindbergh