Exeter, NH - Schools, Deck House and the Best Subs in America

Time for more nostalgia. We lived in Hampstead, NH for about 8 years, built a home and I taught in the local high school. We toured these all today, 30 years after we left in 1985.

Meanwhile I’ve got two small problems: My ear and my tooth. Yesterday, we took a walk around the campground and I got bit on my ear. It swelled up so much that I looked like a pixie. Can you tell it's my right ear here. (By the way, check out that wave. Gary says it’s how my head got screwed on. Hmmm. No chocolate for him today.)

Then, there’s the tooth. I was eating cold cereal yesterday morning and chomped down on something hard. I didn’t think it was a walnut, and I didn’t think it was the flakes in the cereal - yep, it’s part of a tooth.

Oh, shucks, Dentist of Doctor. Which one? Well, I think the swollen ear will heal itself so it’s really the dentist. Actually, I’ve got my annual dental appointment in Iowa in early September so I’m hoping that this tooth can wait. No pain just a slight reaction to cold and hot. But nothing serious.

There I was in the dental chair. The took an x-ray, the dentist came in and discussed the options: possibly a root canal and a crown, possibly I could wait until I got to my regular dentist in Iowa in September or possibly she could put in a temporary filling but there wasn’t much for it to hold on to. Guess which my choice was? Yep, do nothing - until Iowa. Maybe it will fix itself by then. Sure. Silly hope. The tooth does not hurt at all, it is a bit sensitive to cold but not much more than I always have been so I don’t think waiting will be too bad.

At the payment window, I was told that it was $95 and our insurance wouldn’t pay. Huh? I pay my monthly bills regularly and they won’t cover this? I haven’t been to the dentist since last Sept and they still won’t pay for this? So, the dental office called the insurance company and, sure enough, they will cover the whole thing. Whew.

Lunch could only be at Steve’s where they serve the best subs in America. Well, maybe I haven’t eaten at all the sub shops in America but I’ve had a few. And, none match what we used to eat at Steve’s, a little hole-in-the-wall pizza shop in Plaistow, NH. And, Steve’s is still there. Who would have thought that this little hole-in-the-wall sub shop would still be there - after 35 years?

Gary used to have the Italian sub while I had the turkey sub. Today we shared a turkey sub and was it ever good. Just like I rememered and how often does something taste as good as you remembered from 35 years ago? The roll is toasted and the sub is baked before the lettuce and tomato are added. Sorry, Subway, toasted and baked are best.

Ok, let’s visit my old school.

We got there, it was open and we just walked in. Then we found the office where we could explain who we were. I name-dropped names of some teachers who I had worked with who had just retired and I was golden. Not only that, but a guy in the office overheard me and came over to introduce himself, the son of another teacher in the history department, Little Billy Mealey, although he’s not little any more. All grown up and working in the same school his father did.

We walked through the school and wonder of wonders, my old classroom was open.

They’ve got white boards now - I had a cool blackboard. And a chalk holder - an official chalk holder. Wouldn’t need it now.

Then there was our old home - and does it ever look sad. We built what is called a Deck home, from a company in MA. Phillipine mahogony, teak, all wood, open design. Beautiful home - we loved it and would build another like it if we ever built another home. Here’s a picture of it when we had it.

Today, we visited it for the first time in 30 years. We walked up to it to ask of anyone who was there if we could walk around the outside and take pictures. The current owner was excited to meet the first owners of the house so she could ask some questions. In the meantime she showed us what some previous owners had done. They had painted the Phillipine mahogony trim railing around the staircase white.

They had painted the white bricks around the fireplace white (the fireplace is behind the lamp on the right). Huh? Paint white bricks white? But, yep, that was paint. They had painted the outside cedar siding an orange color which the curent owner called ‘pumpkin’. They had painted the cedar steps a brown color. Obviously the previous owner hadn’t met a surface he didn’t want to paint

They had put in piping for oil heat that went on the outside of the house - heating pipes on the outside of the house in NH? Huh? It freezes in New Hampshire. They took out the entry closet and put hooks on the walls. Entry hooks? At the front door?

Well, she had a litany of things that the previous owner had done that she was working to remove. But, it takes so much time. She loved the design and the openness but not all the cosmetic changes they previous owner had done. Well, we didn’t like them either but - it’s not our house any more. Nice conversation with here and we could answer questions she had about how the house was made.
But, we walked around it to see it today. Here it is in its new pumpkin skin.

Then it was a drive around the area and home. When I was younger, much younger, I used to run 5 - 8 miles a day. On weekends I ran around Sunset Lake along the road. Here’s the Lake but note how narrow the roadway is and how little room for running, walking or biking.

But what a fun day.

You can’t go home again but you sure can see what it looks like.