Want to know how I traveled to Bucknell?
You didn’t drive?
Nooo. Unlike some of today’s teenagers, I didn’t have a car. Didn’t have one until I was working. No, I went by public transportation. And by old-fashioned shoe leather.
Go ahead.
Well, from my home in Baldwin, I would take the Long Island Railroad.
It went into Brooklyn, and then I’d take a subway.
It took me to downtown Manhattan. Could I interrupt for one comment here?
Sure.
From the subway station I would walk several blocks to the bus terminal. And at Christmas time — when I would always go home and back — downtown would always be well decorated.
Among the many holiday songs, I came to like “Silver Bells” the best because it reminded me of those walks through downtown New York. You know that one? “Silver bells. Silver bells. It’s Christmas time in the city.”
Yes. That is a good one.
Anyway, at the bus terminal, I would take the Edwards Lakes-to-Sea System. I looked for them online the other day, and apparently they’ve been bought out by a bigger company. But here’s an ad they ran back then.
Fortunately, Lewisburg was one of the “intervening points.” The bus would drop me off at Steininger’s, and I would walk from there. And the cafe was where I would catch the bus back to New York.
Where did you stay at Bucknell?
I never did stay in a college dorm. They were all filled up by the time I committed to Bucknell my freshman year. So I rented a room in a private home in town. It had a good desk that made studying easy.
I stayed there my sophomore year too. But that year I joined a fraternity, TKE, and I moved into that house for my summer session and for my junior and senior years.
How did that work out?
Pretty well. Of course, with all the other guys in the house, studying took a little more concentration. But I did okay.
Next time I’ll talk a little about life in Lewisburg.
See you then.