Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ

This is the time of year that makes Pennsylvanians glad they live here! Beautiful clear fresh air with just a touch of a cool autumn breeze...

And this is also the time of year you notice those hot air balloons...no, this is not a ReMax ad post...It's just that those of us in the Amity Township area of Berks County are afforded the additional pleasure of 'Hot Air Balloon' watching...a great fall pastime for NCAA football halftimes...that's right...what better way to get some fresh air than to get outdoors and breathe in some of that rejuvenating autumn fresh air and watch the flight of those colorfully decorated hot air balloons...

You see, we're smack in the flight path of those balloons which are launched west of here and travel between the beautiful rolling hills that surround us and that border our neighbor, the vast French Creek State Park...and wind up landing close by...sometimes in our very back yards...what a sight!

On the other hand, you could be watching one of those cable TV channels...you know...the ones who feature those political talking heads who predict the catastrophic future of our country so that you can stay tuned or tune in often for updates...Hot Air Buffoons...!

So have a wonderful autumn...get outside and enjoy the cool fresh air of fall...and get away from those talking head hot air buffoons...they will soon be selling their crystal balls at yard sales to be used by bargain hunters for paper weights!

You've seen, many times I'm sure, celebrations where Kings, Queens, Brides, and other special honorees are paraded through the public arena preceded by cute little very young ladies strewing rose petals along the path ahead of them as typically appropriate beautiful music accompanies and commemorates the event...

And so, along life's journeys, we are fortunate enough to witness some epiphanial events in our own lives...perhaps not so formal, perhaps not so grandiose, perhaps not so regalitarian...yet nevertheless memorable and significant in the real scheme of things...

Sunday and Monday were days when Gil, my son in law office manager and I attended Old Republic Title Insurance Company's annual Pennsylvania agency seminar...it was held in Gettysburg, Pa...the infamous Civil War battleground site where much blood was shed as the armies of Union General George Meade and Confederate General Robert E. Lee clashed for several days...

The blood of all those innocents still cries out from the ground making it a truly hallowed place...

At the seminar we were fortunate enough to share the dinner table on Sunday evening with a beautiful mother and daughter pair...Linda Moose, owner operator of Adams Abstract Associates Inc. and her co owner operator daughter Susan White...these people are what title insurance is all about...or at least what it should be all about...career title technicians, dedicated, knowledgeable, gracious, refined, genuine, caring, industrious, hard working and they also operate with their husbands Chapel Ridge Meat & Mercantile, Inc., a company which raises and produces safe wholesome beef raised naturally...

They're located at 5 Chapel Ridge Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325...(717) 334-5684, and their Title Offices are at 69 E. Middle Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325...(717) 334-9216...

Life has no accidents!

Scripture tells us that God knew us before He knitted us in our mother's womb, and further He is familiar with ALL our ways and journeys and rests, which He scrutinizes...life has no accidents...God continues to strew rose petals ahead of every place we walk...are we seeing and smelling and appreciating them...and the honor they signify...???

We were created by beauty, to see beauty, and to be beauty to a world in search of beauty which has lost its way...which focuses on the bad news, the tragedy, and the ugly things of the day! Instead of roses, the world sees thorns...

Our lives are overflowing with roses and petals like Linda and Susan...I have come to expect them along the journey...!!!

What a mouthful, eh!!!

Every year Old Republic Title Insurance Company (ORTIC), a title insurance underwriter, hosts two days of seminars and relaxation for its agents in Pennsylvania...This year the seminar is being held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and begins Sunday afternoon...

I look forward to this opportunity each year to pick up 6 of the 24 credits necessary, every two years, to renew my title insurance license with the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department...

Underwriters, as a group, will be the last entity of the real estate transaction to encourage blogging both as an educational tool for consumers and other professionals in the real estate and title industries, and, as a means to network with other real estate professionals and industry groups...after all, if it's free it can't be worth much, can it?

That seems to be the mantra of the title insurance industry...Anything free and intended to bring transparency to an industry desperate to have its cloak of secrecy removed so that everyone can see the true value of the services that are rendered by the many sincere, capable, and astute technicians who have worked intensely and feverishly to bring The American Dream to millions of homeowners and commercial businesses!

It is not my horn I am tooting when I cast such aspersions, but the horn of the thousands of experts in conveyancing and title research that have devoted lifetimes to this title insurance industry to insure smooth, accurate, dependable, and marketable real estate transactions...only to be ignored or pooh poohed by their brethren in other real estate professions...and relegated to paychecks and remuneration far below the amounts their abilities and knowledge command...and in most cases without a single complaint on the part of these career title people...

This post on this blog is to honor them...

Their unsung devotion to keep this industry professional has been more than tested by title industry insiders...bent on 'bottom line' management...and 'income only' diplomacy...!!!

Hats off to you fellows and gals...you know who you are...

You will always have my respect and admiration...and you have made my 38 years in this industry a pleasure to work and interact and brainstorm with the likes of you!!!

So Saturday evening we headed to the Texas baseball field in neighbor Birdsboro, PA for a 6:00PM baseball game...we got there about 5:15PM...

Guess what...we saw no familiar faces, no other team members or coaches, and moreover there was already a game going that was only in the third inning...!

Oops! We messed up! The game was actually scheduled to start at 7:00PM, not 6:00PM as we thought...now what do we do?

We didn't want to pack up and drive back home, it was too humid to stick around and wait (all of us had a rough day on Saturday), so we decided to grab a quick pizza at someplace close so we wouldn't have to eat our dinner after the game, then drive back to the field to arrive at just the perfect time. Great game plan, don't you think...yeah, except for two things...we had to eat quickly, but more importantly we only had about 25 dollars between us...

No problem...Lubrano's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant to the rescue...and only 5 minutes from the baseball field...

We pull into the parking lot hoping they weren't overly busy...good so far...and they had two tables available...just enough for the 7 of us (they specialize in takeout and home delivery)...We find a special that seemed like it would work for us...A large pizza (huge), A large cheesesteak stromboli, and a 2 liter bottle of your favorite beverage for under 20 dollars...perfect! Now if they could only accommodate our time schedule...!

Not only did they come through with flying colors, but the food was superb, tastefully prepared by what looked like close Italian family members, cordial service, clean facilities, and a great menu to boot...! And very competitive prices!

I'm telling you, if you live in the Douglassville/Birdsboro area of Berks County Pennsylvania and don't try Lubranos, you're missing the boat...and by the way, we took a good portion of our order home for later enjoyment and left an appreciative tip, and still got out of there at less than 25 dollars...and we made it to the game in plenty of time and no one was rushed!!!

Try Lubrano's...they're diagonally opposite another famous pizza venue in the area!!!

Lubrano's Pizzeria
300 Ben Franklin Highway /Route 422
Douglassville, PA 19518
610-404-2600

We're hunkered in as a family riding out the remnants of Hurricane Hanna...Not our usual Saturday afternoon activity...!

You sit in your favorite chair, watch the weather channel, peek outside occasionally to see if it's still raining, listen to the kids getting on each others nerves, try to write your next post, and think of all the things you could be doing...and THEN...

You begin to think of all the wonderful things you enjoyed this past week...delicious sweet seedless chilled watermelon...locally grown Pennsylvania sweet corn on the cob (the best in the world)...so sweet you eat it plain, with no sugar in the boiling water, no salt, no butter...all those tastes are built right into that PA sweet corn...why ruin it...the first middle school scrimmage, fall ball, blogging on Active Rain, fixing things, tomorrows first mites football game, and the Phillies shutout win over the Mets last night...

It just doesn't get much better than this folks!!! Life is Great!

And oh yes, my new hero...Governor Sarah Palin...!!!