The Repplier House needs your help

I was at the gigantic Groundhog Day Weekend sale at the Frackville Mall and on my way back home I got a chance to stop at the Repplier House. It is just north of St. Clair, at the junction of Wolf Creek and Mill Creek. It is chock full of history. It is often referred to as “the jewel of New Castle Township” and is located on grounds owned by the Repplier Coal Company but leased out. Due to some legalize language the landlord’s hands are tied; the perplexed landlord is not permitted to fix up the structure. It is the sole responsibility of the tenant.

“It is the land tenant’s responsibility to fix up the Repplier House!’ is an argument protecting the land owner from responsibility. I agree one hundred per cent. The landowner is fearful of getting bogged down in mire of litigation and the Repplier House now sits sad and abandoned even though no one knows who the tenant is or whether the tenant is paying rent. No one knows if a tenant even exists. Maybe it is the ghost of George S. Repplier? Who wants to get tangled up in a fight with a ghost? I know I wouldn’t; I just finished watching “Paranormal Activity” on DVD. Ghosts always win fights. I don't know why.
The landowner is obviously embarrassed by the tenant’s lackadaisical response to the needs of the building. Some in the county are even demanding that the building be demolished. Do you know how expensive that could be? Why it could cost hundreds of dollars or perhaps even a couple thousand dollars. Take one look. First of all, it looks fixable to me; it appears that all it needs is some tender loving care to restore it to its grandeur past. It could certainly use a fresh coat of paint for starters.
Why should the landowner be responsible for the maintenance of its real estate when the building was erected by its tenant? Aren’t we responsible for our own actions? How can the landowner would be expected to come up with a couple of thousand dollars to demolish the building? That is a lot of money, especially when the landowner is a coal company struggling to survive in these bad economic times. I bet that the landowner is a member of SEDCO or the Chamber of Commerce - two organizations that promote Schuylkill County. It must be such an embarrassment to the landlord. To argue that this landowner should pay to remove a public nuisance on its property simply defies all logic and compassion. Did you know that coal demand is way down since Santa Claus cancelled many of his anthracite contracts? Bad children have now been getting brussel sprouts in their stockings on Christmas mornings. Good for our west end farmers but terrible for our struggling coal industry. Also Luzerne County has shut down its juvenile detention center, releasing many “bad” children who would have gotten coal (or maybe brussel sprouts) every Christmas. To top it off, the coal industry has lost the Courthouse contract. The Courthouse has switched to gas (not even brussel sprout-generated gas which is bad news for west end farmers). No coal. Not even one lump. Na-da. Zip. Zilch.
That is why I am calling on the people of the county to role up sleeves and pitch in to volunteer. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Forget about Haiti. Think locally, not globally. Take a look at this building outside of St. Clair. Doesn’t it bring tears to your eyes knowing that the landowner has to suffer with this eyesore? Where is the stimulus money? Where is Habitat for Humanity when we need it? Can’t SKIP send dozens of scouts over to help clean up? Can’t the Penn State students stand along Route 61 with buckets to collect coins from compassionate passer-bys? Too bad that some county philanthropist could not just pick up the tab to help out the coal company (and/or help out the ghost/tenant George S. Repplier).
I will not simply sit back oblivious to this crisis. I will do my part. I will divert all money that intended to send to Haiti to the Repplier Relief Committee once one is formed.
Take a look around New Castle Township and you will agree that Port Au Prince can wait.

Arlen's running again

I have been voting for Arlen Specter my entire life. And so have my parents, and their fathers before them. Women didn’t have the vote until 1919 so that is why my grandmothers didn’t vote for him early on.

Some people say he is an opportunist but I don’t care what party he belongs to. The Trouts voted for him when he was a Republican, when he was a Prohibitionist, and they will vote for him now that he is a Democrat. Personally I don't care. I became a fan of his when he created his “Wall of Sound” back in the early 1960s. He created that dense, layered, and reverberant music that sounded so great on AM radio and at the jukebox at Mickey’s Fountainette. I would play his quintessential hit, “Be My Baby,” over and over again until old man Mickey himself would throw me out of the Fountainette. That is why I am a Specter supporter. The man is musical genius.
Quite an accomplishment for a senator who has held his seat since the days of Boies Penrose. While laying claim to being the only Senator inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he also made quite a name for himself heading all of those assassination investigation committees. Huey Long, John Kennedy, the Tellarite Ambassador on the Star Trek series and the Notorious B.I.G, just to name a few. An assassination just wasn’t an assassination unless Arlen got to investigate it somehow. His most controversial investigation was into the mysterious death of the Werewolf of London back in the 1950s. Working together with British intelligence he concocted the theory that the werewolf was killed by a single silver bullet. Books have been written about that ever since. As for me, I haven’t made my mind up yet.
He has always been in the papers causing a stir. I remember the time that he sat on the committee investigating whether Benny Hill was being harassed by Danny Thomas, the Supreme Court nominee. Hill was sent packing and Thomas now sits on the court.
Then there was the time that Arlen got to sit in judgment on Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial. Everyone looked up to him on that one since he was the only Senator to have been on three separate impeachment committees – Andrew Johnson’s, Richard Nixon’s and Bill Clinton’s. Quite an impressive record there. Even Strom Thurmond was jealous. At the dramatic conclusion of the hearing, he appeared on the steps of the Capitol in kilts, with bagpipes blasting away to a strange version of “Be My Baby,” announcing in a thick Scottish accent that Bill Clinton was innocent of the charges after reading the Treaty of Aberdeen. I was watching it on TV in Julian’s Bar, and the crowds went ballistic in Mount Carbon that’s for sure.

Now Arlen has a fight on his hands. First he has to sink Admiral Sestak in the primary, then take on Toomey in the fall election. My money is on Arlen. He always seems to know how to reinvent himself. The political pundits said that Scott Brown was victorious in the recent Senate race in Massachusetts due in large part to his Cosmopolitan centerfold publicity. Cosmopolitan, you all know, is the second highest read magazine in the country, right after AARP’s magazine. I think it is called AARP The Magazine. So easy to remember. It's pronounced aaarrrr-pa.

Sure enough! Arlen did not waste anytime to reinvent himself once again.

He's morphing into Scott Brown. I just got my February edition of AARP the magazine, and lo and behold who is the newest Centerfold winner? You guessed it. Pandering to the state's large (enormous) senior citizen voting bloc, no less? So what. I had gone down to the local betting parlor and wagered on Betty White being the centerfold. I might as well have thrown my money into the hole in the ground at Norwegian Street near the old bus terminal. Don’t underestimate the tenacity of this guy. He will do anything to get reelected. I’m going back down to the betting parlor and place ten dollars on ol’ Arlen in the fall. How about yous?

two thumbs up

It is not often that I get to review a motion picture. Today I had the opportunity to watch “Pottsville And the Top 5.” and do a review for the beansoup blog. Why? Because I run the blog. its cold outside and there is nothing else to write about.
The film was recommended to me by a poster on the green screen. It was being hyped as an urban docudrama that everyone must see. I fell for hype before. Lots of times. Even this Christmas I went out and sold my blood just so I could buy my grandkids some zu zu pets. Then there were the hyped films. The Blair Witch Project. The Forty Year Old Virgin. American Pie. Knocked Up. All films that I was told I must see before I die. All of these were disappointments.

Would “Pottsville And the Top 5” also let me down? Not by a long shot. After having screened a VHS bootleg copy acquired at a local flea market I was utterly surprised by the film and I love it. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me sneeze. I felt moved in a way that rarely happens to me. I think the last time was when I watched Sean Connery in “The Molly Maguires.” And that was back in the late 60s at the Hollywood Theatre.

This movie certainly lived up to all of the hype, the hoop-la, and the brou-ha-ha (not necessarily in that order). The opening sequence really packed a punch and had me glued to my seat in anticipation. The script is excellent. The film seemed so real to me and it challenged me to think beyond what had been told to me by the well-cast actor, presumably playing himself. He is convincingly naturalistic, and actually likeable. Zaq Powers' method acting is simple, straight-forward, raw and powerful. Todd Todderson’s direction and cinematography are masterful. A new Fellini is now walking among us. He not only showed the beauty of the city and the surrounding area, but the film speaks about the people that reside in it.
One of the great strengths of the film is the editing. There is never a dull moment. You never know where the action will be taking place next, which does much to heighten the tension. It is beautiful, deep, adventurous, sad, and funny. I applaud the film-makers of Noleyone Productions for creating a hit out of a simple idea and handled so awesomely well.

What a concept. It is the philosophical, spawling journey of an energetic young man looking for freedom and adventure in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This main character is searching for his own version of the American Dream. Will he find it? I won't spoil the ending for you.
This existental film was actually shot on location in the Schuylkill County seat on a limited budget, enticed here by the generous tax breaks offered by the city to filmmakers. To be honest though, one hilarious Borat-like scene was filmed in nearby North Manheim Township.
What the filmmakers managed to do with what they had is not only revolutionary, but also inspirational to other aspiring film makers throughout the southern anthracite coalfields. The gripping film reminded me of the naivete of youth and the way the young view the world. The diner scene was reminiscent of the Nicholson movie “Five Easy Pieces” and I assume that is where the Five comes from in the title.

Overall it is a moving and thought-provoking masterpiece despite the fact that the film omitted several well-known locations in the city, the soundtrack was somewhat loud and the script occasionally crossed the line between character development and character worship. The omission of the mysterious Spa 61 employees was the biggest letdown for me. This film is destined to become some kind of classic – an Easy Rider for the X, Y, and Z Generations (not necessarily in that order) – it defines the road film genre. It is a brilliant piece of arthouse experimental film-making.

(film is rated PG-13. No violence; no foul language; implied sexual reference; no drug use; may be offensive to women who do laundry).