Both Mary Ellen and Bob had always wanted a little sports car so one year for their anniversary,(before Alyssa) they decided to buy an old British sports car - a 1974 green MGB convertible. On the evening that they went to pick it up, Bob's brother Tom drove them to Northeast Philadelphia where they were to pick the car up. They got into the car and was both so nervous and excited that they could not even figure out how to connect the seatbelts. As a result, Tom had to lean over and fasten both Mary Ellen and Bob into the seatbelts. He said he felt like a ride operator at Dorney Park fastening the little kids in their seats. Now all fastened in Mary Ellen and Bob started out for the ride home or at least the first two blocks of it. After driving only two blocks, the car stopped and they could not get it restarted. They pushed it into a gas station and through a lucky coincidence were able to get in contact with the mechanic from the auto dealer who was already closed. He came over to the gas station very apologetic and said he did not know what happened but they would get it back into the shop the next morning and get the problem corrected. Mary Ellen was frantic - first she was upset that the car did not work as was Bob, but she was also concerned about leaving the car unattended at the gas station overnight. After some time, the mechanic and the gas station attendant finally convinced her that it would be perfectly safe because no one would even know what it was -- if it was a Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar that would be a different story but no one would know or care about a 1974 MGB. Mary Ellen felt better and Tom drove her and Bob back home. When they went to pick the car up a few days later they were able to drive it home with no problem and they were even able to fasten their own seatbelts.Bob and Mary Ellen spent a lot of time driving around in their MGB with the top down and had a lot of fun. When they brought Alyssa home, they decided it was time to sell the MG because they knew they would not have a lot of free time and there was no back seat for Alyssa.

I (Bob) always had a fascination and a desire to go up in an open cockpit biplane, although I did not know if I would ever get the chance and I knew Mary Ellen would not go with me because she was so afraid of heights.One summer while we were on vacation before we adopted Alyssa, we were in Ocean City, MD and there was a plane in the air with a streamer about open-cockpit bi-plane rides at the local airport. I said to Mary Ellen that I would like to go and much to my surprise she said she would go with me. I looked at her puzzled but thought it would be more fun with the two of us going. We went to the airport and bought the tickets. Mary Ellen listened to my conversation with the person I bought the ticket from about how long into the year they fly and would we need our coats. He said they usually stop around October and yes we should take our coats. Mary Ellen was puzzled by this discussion but did not put it all together until the plane taxied up to us. At that point, she yelled out -"it's all open". I laughed and said "didn't you realize that" and "is that why you were so anxious to go along". She admitted that she was puzzled by my conversation with the ticket person but now she knew why. I offered to get our money back but she insisted on trying it. We went to the plane and first she asked the pilot if he was a good pilot. Then as she started to get in, she asked"is this thing safe" and he assured her it was. She started to climb in but was so nervous, that she got herself all twisted up and as the pilot and I watched her, she got her whole body into the plane except for one leg which was hanging over the door. The pilot said"wonder what she is going to do with that leg?". She finally managed to get her leg in and I climbed in next to her followed by the pilot. In a few minutes we were up in the air and although Mary Ellen said she was enjoying the flight, her hands were wrapped around the handle bar in the plane as tight as it could be -- a real white knuckle grip.
When we landed, Mary Ellen got out quickly and although she enjoyed having done it and it made for a funny story, she told me "never again"

Mary Ellen planned for weeks to throw a surprise birthday party for me. She knew it would be hard to fool me but she did all of the planning, invitations, and even cooking without me ever getting suspicious. This was extra difficult for her because she had a lot to do and her knee was bothering her so much at this time. (she went a few months later for surgery) Anyway, with the help of friends she figured out a way to get me out of the house for a couple hours on a Sunday morning and when I returned home, I found a large group of friends and family waiting up on the road to surprise me. She pulled it off without me ever having a clue.

A couple of years ago, I dropped our van off at a local repair shop to have some repairs done. After work, a co-worker took Mary Ellen and I to pick up the van. Our van is green and looked like many of the other thousands on the road. While I went in to pay the bill, Mary Ellen decided to wait in the van. She got in the passenger seat and then as she turned around to look at the back of the van noticed all kinds of old car parts, tool etc lying all over the van. It never dawned on her that our van did not have any of this inside as all she could think of was " they trashed the van - Bob is going to be really upset"!. As she pondered what could possibly have happened she heard someone yell, "You're in the wrong van lady" and as she looked up, she saw the mechanic who owned the van pointing to our van a few spaces away. She got out of the van laughing at the silly thing she had done. It made for a great story for quite some time!.

Stories of courage to tell children

To the Editor:
    
     As I look into the face of my 5 year old daughter, I try to hold back the tears and anguish that all Americans have shared since the tragedies on Sept. 11 How do I protect my child from the evil that exists in the world? Do I let her feel my fear or do I hide it somewhere inside of me?

     I reflect on the lives of my grandparents and father who came to this country in the early 1900's. They became a part of the backbone of this wonderful nation. My father was 16 years old when he entered this country with his brother. They did not realize that they would soon be faced with a terrible flu epidemic that killed thousands of people, two world wars, Pearl Harbor and the Great Depression. Through all this they never let fear control their lives or diminish their goals.

     My grandmother missed her family so much during World War I that she decided to travel back to Europe for a visit, taking her two children, a 3 year old and an infant who someday I would call Mom. I heard this story from a very young age and as I got older I only learned to appreciate how very strong she was not to let fear stand in her way and prevent her from traveling across the ocean.

     As I look into the face of my 5 year old, I realize that in my soul I carry the strengths of my grandparents, father and uncle. I realize that it is my turn as a parent to instill in her strength and not fear. She's too young to understand now, but someday she will hear the stories and be inspired.

                         Mary Ellen Sanchez Sipos
                                                                                         Salisbury Township

   
                                                            

       Mary Ellen, having traveled to Spain and Italy twice had several favorite places in Europe, but one of her and Bob's favorite places in the U.S. was the French Quarter New Orleans. We visited it twice in the early years of their marriage before Alyssa. Mary Ellen enjoyed so much about it -- the history and the mystery, the sensuality and the romance, the food, the music and the general free spirited attitude of the visitors and the residents. Favorite memories included cafe au lait and beignets in the morning at the Cafe Du Monde, a muffaletta sandwich from the Central Grocery, gumbo and crawfish, lunch at the Napoleon House, the crabcakes at the Royal Hotel, all of the delicious creole and cajun food, the French Market, Pat O'Brien's and many Hurricanes (the drink not the real thing), the voodoo tour, the swamp boat tour, all types of music emanating from everywhere including jazz, the blues and zydeco music and of course all of the sights, sounds and offerings on Bourbon Street.