My 80th Birthday and The Robin's Nest, Mount Holly 11/13/25

The Lost Gypsy Caravan

This was my best birthday ever. The greatest gift was to see how many friends I had and how much they liked and cared about me. My neighbors, Debby and Eleanor took me out to lunch at Maritsa's and Debby gave me a bouquet and a great soup bowl that can go in the oven, the microwave or the freeer! My old teaching buddies, Jacky Brady, Joanne Wells, and Nancy Thomas gave me lunch at Maritsa's also! Then my daughter drove me to The Blue Plate in Mullica Hill for lunch with her and my sister Sue. Yesterday on my actual birthday, Sue and I went to Mount Holly to the Robin's Nest.

The Robin's Nest was a restaurant I used to visit regularly when I was able to drive all over the place. There were so many things in Mount Holly that I liked, the antique shop in the parking lot on Church St., the Christmas Shop, the hadicraft shop, the basket weaver, the gypsy caravan. I haven't been there since the pandemic and so much has changed.

At the Robin's Nest, I had potato leek soup because I always liked their soups. When we parked, I hoticed the little colorful gypsy caravan that used to be parked on the grassy lot next to the parking lot was gone. I asked our waittress what happened to it and she said she never saw any gypsy caravan and she had been there for 30 years! She made me feel like I had imagined it or made it up! Fortunately there were two women in a nearby table and one of them told me she remembered the gypsy caravan. I always liked it because it was so colorfully painted, tiny and beautiful and reminded me of the open road. When we got back home, after I dropped Sue off, I searched the internet via google to no avail. No mention of the gypsy caravan on anything relating to Mount Holly. That little gypsy caravan is really and truly gone. Also gone, the arts and crafts shop, the Christmas Shop, The Quilt shop. Susan said she thinks the pandemic killed all those little stores. At least The Robin's Nest was still there.

I still have two more lunches in the birthday festival, today at Kunkels with Joanne Spector, my old gym buddy, if I am giving 'origin labels' to my friends, and tomorrow at The Station, with Sue Troy, an old Merchantville High School friend. She also does art and I want to introduce her to the gallery.

Interestingly, at The Blue Plate with my daughter and sister, I ran into a friend from when I worked at Gloucester City High School, Kathy Tice, school secretary. She was always the sweetest, calmest, kindest woman.

If I gave this birthday a theme, it would be friendship. A secondary theme would be change and saying goodbye. For two years or so, I have been feeling as though I am sayig a slow goodbye to the world that I love! My medical reports have been so good this autumn that I have optimism that I may make it to 90, but I already feel like I am from the past and not entirely fitted for the future. A third theme would be TREES. I have been thinking and photographing and painting tree pictues a lot. When I die, I am to have my ashes scattered under the Salem Oak seedling tree we planted on Arbor day at Woodbury Friends Meeting. I want to be there with the peaceful people.

From that first tree on Warnock Street in Philadelphia in the 1940's and 1950's trees have been in my life and important to me. I have felt them to be friends of mine in this world.

A fourth theme can be visitors from the past - the memorabilia from my Godfather Neal Schmidt, deeased 5 years ago that came in the mail from his family friend, Mary Cook, Sheila from Tom Nicholas's woodland hermitage in the 1970's, Kathy Tice from the GCH years, and Sue Troy from my Merchantville High School y years. >p/> Lavinia gave me a flower press for my birthday and I am going to press the flowers from the bouquet that Debby gave me.

Happy Tails and if anyone out there remembers the gypsy caravan please let me know at wrightj45@yahoo.com