Bill O’Boyle

Bill O’Boyle

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WILKES-BARRE — How does that old poem go?

“Spring has sprung, the grass has riz

I wonder where the Kielbasa Festival is?

Something like that.

We got some great news last week when it was announced that the Pittston Tomato Festival will return this summer. Even though it will look a little different, according to organizers, it will still be the same great festival it has always been.

And we now await to hear about the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival and the Plymouth Alive Kielbasa Festival. Committees are meeting to discuss these great events and we can only hope they, too, will return.

And we also hope that we will see churches and fire companies hold their annual picnics, as we struggle to return to some form of normalcy in this lingering pandemic world we have been living in for more than a year.

Vaccinations are being administered daily all over the country and world, providing a real shot in the arm to our recovery from this coronavirus pandemic.

Our daily numbers are trending downward, but as we move into a more relaxed social world, we must be sure to not expect an instant return to normal life. It is on its way, no doubt, but we are the stewards of this ship and we hold the key to a gradual complete recovery.

We also are glad to see students returning to in-person classes. They have been robbed of way too much of their formative years by this pandemic. We want to see them in the classrooms, in the athletic arenas and at the proms. They surely deserve it.

But again, we must be careful here. Baby steps must be taken. We can get through this together, but we must be willing to do all that we need to do — together.

But along the way, there will be disappointments. For me, the cancellation of our annual fishing trip to Canada for the second straight year, is one of those disappointments.

Our motley bunch of crew will not be angling for northern pike and walleye this year. We will not be rigging our live bait to tempt strikes from the toothy fish below. Nor will we enjoy the camaraderie and fellowship that fills our cabin on a daily basis.

Seriously, there is nothing better than being in a boat on a pristine Canadian lake and watching your bobber go down and your reel starts to buzz as a pike runs with your bait. That’s when the adrenalin begins to flow.

And for me, that’s when my two boat-mates begin to rally to my side.

“Let it take it, easy now. Wait, wait, wait — now set the hook!”

And once the hook is set, the battle begins. And you bring the 10-pound-plus beauty to the side of the boat and into the net and the photos are taken.

It’s an experience that each of us waits for every year. And to be unable to cross the border again this year is really disappointing.

And we will miss our bountiful meals and late night “apres peche” platters and maybe one beer. Not to mention our breakfasts of eggs and various pork products.

And interspersed with all the fishing and eating, there is the element of insult humor which is non-stop. And funny. Hilariously funny. It’s the kind of humor that always leaves you wanting for more.

Sometimes I exaggerate.

So without our fishing trip, we are even more anxious to see a return of other events that we enjoy. Like the aforementioned festivals and picnics.

And then there is our desire to once again break bread with friends. In a restaurant. Inside. Order off a menu. Maybe an appetizer. And a Bloody Mary. And a bread basket with butter. And conversation with friends, catching up on the past year and how each of us has coped with the pandemic.

Thank goodness for social media, where we can chat and look at pictures and make comments and basically not lose all contact with our closest of friends and family. We get to see each other, talk to each other and learn about each other.

It has kept us connected and sane.

Yes, I want to walk the streets of Pittston, Edwardsville and Plymouth and enjoy the festivals. I want to again judge in the Kielbasa Festival. I want to listen to the live music of great local bands.

I want to do it all.

And I want to go to the movies and I want to dance at the annual Irem Dance where Joe Nardone & the All Stars and Eddie Day & TNT will play the songs of our lives.

It’s called life. The good life. The pre-pandemic life.

Let’s hope we get to live it all again.

Let’s party like it’s 1999.

Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at [email protected].