Turning Points
Life is a journey. It has a beginning and it has an end. All along its path are events, places
and people who are turning points. Here, I relate some of these turning points in my own
journey. Hopefully, the stories will illuminate and maybe entertain some of those who care
enough to read.
Life is a journey. It has a beginning and it has an end. All along its path are events, places
and people who are turning points. Here, I relate some of these turning points in my own
journey. Hopefully, the stories will illuminate and maybe entertain some of those who care
enough to read.
| Paul Abell June 2, 2006 |
gave way to greater plans. They bought a hand cranked movie projector from a mail order place
along with a few ten minute short takes. Then they cleared all the junk and debris out of our coal
house and set the whole thing up there in the dark with the idea of charging admission to other
kids to come and see a movie. I don’t remember many kids actually showing up although there
was little competition then since TV was still in the future. Hugh Louis found that there was much
more interest when he ran the films backward so we saw swimmers undiving off the board and
race cars screeching in reverse around the track.
Fortunately for their moneymaking ideas, the coal house was usually empty. It was so empty in
fact, that I frequently had to dig lumps from the black earthen floor to fill up the coal bucket. That
bucket usually had a "busted out" bottom so I had to wedge a large lump at the bottom to hold the
smaller ones on top. Our house was warmed by several coal burning stoves that had to be fed
often and emptied as often. Hauling in the coal, shoveling ashes from the stove and emptying
them out back was one of the chores we all argued with each other about as to whose turn it
wasn't.
Anyway, another Abell/Shoemaker scheme was to create a horror house using the coal house.
The patronage was slim for this too maybe because the ambiance was a bit less than optimal; it
was a coal house after all. Paul Abell didn't play sports and I don't recall him being in on any of the
wars. He was something of a technical wonk before the term was invented and his genius was a
factor in the planning of the money-making enterprises. We called him “Egghead” behind his
back. As time went on, Hugh Louis and I got involved in basketball and ham radio and Paul Abell
moved on to other things.
I saw Paul Abell a few years ago in Louisville at John Howard's funeral. He looked a lot the same
even with the passage of many decades.
along with a few ten minute short takes. Then they cleared all the junk and debris out of our coal
house and set the whole thing up there in the dark with the idea of charging admission to other
kids to come and see a movie. I don’t remember many kids actually showing up although there
was little competition then since TV was still in the future. Hugh Louis found that there was much
more interest when he ran the films backward so we saw swimmers undiving off the board and
race cars screeching in reverse around the track.
Fortunately for their moneymaking ideas, the coal house was usually empty. It was so empty in
fact, that I frequently had to dig lumps from the black earthen floor to fill up the coal bucket. That
bucket usually had a "busted out" bottom so I had to wedge a large lump at the bottom to hold the
smaller ones on top. Our house was warmed by several coal burning stoves that had to be fed
often and emptied as often. Hauling in the coal, shoveling ashes from the stove and emptying
them out back was one of the chores we all argued with each other about as to whose turn it
wasn't.
Anyway, another Abell/Shoemaker scheme was to create a horror house using the coal house.
The patronage was slim for this too maybe because the ambiance was a bit less than optimal; it
was a coal house after all. Paul Abell didn't play sports and I don't recall him being in on any of the
wars. He was something of a technical wonk before the term was invented and his genius was a
factor in the planning of the money-making enterprises. We called him “Egghead” behind his
back. As time went on, Hugh Louis and I got involved in basketball and ham radio and Paul Abell
moved on to other things.
I saw Paul Abell a few years ago in Louisville at John Howard's funeral. He looked a lot the same
even with the passage of many decades.
___________________________________________________
| And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV) |
| Copyright © 2005 leoshoemaker.com |
My money making schemes of selling bottles to the
bootlegger or collecting scrap iron were pitiful
compared to the grand ideas Hugh Louis concocted
with our second cousin Paul Abell Barry. Paul Abell
lived in a large house close to Dr. Mudd’s office on
Main Street in New Haven.
Hugh Louis and Paul Abell thought big in those days.
Selling lemonade at a stand on the sidewalk soon
bootlegger or collecting scrap iron were pitiful
compared to the grand ideas Hugh Louis concocted
with our second cousin Paul Abell Barry. Paul Abell
lived in a large house close to Dr. Mudd’s office on
Main Street in New Haven.
Hugh Louis and Paul Abell thought big in those days.
Selling lemonade at a stand on the sidewalk soon
leoshoemaker.com
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| How I found a new life by Leo Shoemaker |
Photo courtesy of T. Cecil, Mayor of New Haven
