The Holidays: Fun, But Hectic

We had a great Christmas, as well as a great pre and post Christmas. Having Howard, Kris, Mark, Mike and Kim with us was so much fun. We got lots of presents and drank lots of SLUSH (Grandma's recipe).

New Year's Eve is here and Sue and I (and Wickett) plan a quiet celebration at home. Mike and I will be going to Akron this evening to sing with the barbershop chorus. This is part of the 13th annual First Night celebration. The chorus has participated in all of them.

When we went to bed last night, we had no snow on the ground at all. This morning, we woke up to about 5 inches of the white stuff. My first job was to clear the sidewalks and the driveway, then brush the snow off of the cars. Luckily it was kind of a light fluffy snow, so it was easier to push around. I worked up a good appetite for breakfast. If we needed a reminder of why we go south for the winter, this did the trick.

We plan to leave for Florida on Saturday. We have been packing the bus a bit each day and we're in pretty good shape. The last minute things will go out on Saturday morning and then we'll be on our way. It's always a busy time for us, but I think that all three of us are anxious to be on our way.

Happy New Year to everyone and watch future blog posts to keep updated on our adventures in North Fort Myers. Kris is flying down on Jan. 10th to stay with us for a week. We will try to do some of the things that we didn't get to do when she visited us last winter.

A Visitor From The East

Our original plans were to drive to Erie today and bring Sue's dad back to spend Christmas with us in Kent. When we listened to the weather forecasts on Friday, they were calling for single digit temps with lots of snow and high winds along the lakeshore. Our trip along I-90 was going to take us through the heart of the bad weather. So Sue called Howard and we made arrangements to "collect" him, as my British friends say, yesterday (Sunday). It was very cold, but sunny and we had no travel problems at all. We got to Erie, packed Howard's baggage, etc., and even with a stop for lunch on the way home, we were back in Kent by roughly 2:00 pm.

Our weather here has been cold ( 0 deg. , -20 wind chills), but not much snow. To the north, the predictions of 6-8 inches of snow were accurate. We are glad that we don't have to travel today.

Kris and Mark are arriving tomorrow. They have been spending a couple of days in a rented cabin near Hocking Hills State Park. Their dog, Sammy, is coming along. Our big Christmas dinner is planned for Wednesday night. Mike and Kim will be here too. It will be fun.

On Thursday, Mike and Kim will being going to visit Kim's family. The rest of us will be winding down and maybe taking in a movie in the afternoon.

On Friday, Kris and Mark are going to Hamilton to be with Mark's family and we will be taking Sue's dad to the Cleveland airport to fly down to be with the Tennessee Moomys and Meadors.

After that, we'll plan a day to visit with my mom and my aunt Esther. Then it will be time to get serious about packing the motorhome for our trip to Florida. Departure will either be on January 3rd or 4th. We've seen enough snow to remind us what it is, but we are ready for warm tempertures and sandy beaches.

You Gotta Love Giant Eagle

On our way home from Burt Greenwald Chevrolet, where the motorhome got it's pre-Florida trip oil change, we stopped at the Get-Go station to fill up. We had built up $1.91 in Fuel Perks and the price per gallon was only $1.59. That meant that the first 30 gallons were free and then we put in 11 more gallons at $1.28. The end result was 41 gallons of gas for slightly more than $14. Not bad. Two weeks ago, we put 14 gallons in the Santa Fe for free. So our $14 actually bought 55 gallons. Go back a couple of months and that many gallons would have been over $200 at a regular gas station. Sue bought groceries this afternoon and we already have $.45 in Fuel Perks for the next visit to the gas station. Too bad we don't have Giant Eagle gas stations on the way south and in Florida. The last one is in Marietta, just before we cross into West Virginia.

A Joke From My Mom

This is a joke that my mom shared with me tonight. It came from Margaret's, the coffee shop in downtown Malvern, OH that she visits on a regular basis.


A couple parked their car on the street and went to do some shopping. When they returned, the driver's side window had been completely broken out. They were particularly worried because they had left two Cleveland Browns tickets on the dash. They were surprised when they looked on the dash and found FOUR Cleveland Browns tickets.

Beware Of The Dog House

Since many guys are doing shopping at this time of the year, please watch the following video before you purchase any gifts.

(presented as a public service by Bill)

Renewing Wickett

We mailed out the paperwork today, along with the $12 fee, for Wickett's 2009 dog license. Now he will be legal for another year. I kind of hate this process because those bolts that fasten the license to his butt are always so rusty.

Celestial Triangle On Monday

On Monday, December 1, just after sunset, the moon, Venus and Jupiter will form a triangle in the southwest sky. Hopefully, the sky will be clear enough where you are to give a view of this event. You may even be able to see "earthshine", which is reflected light from earth that could make the unlighted part of the slim crescent moon visible. Happy viewing and use binoculars if you have them.

SCHOOL'S OUT ANNIVERSARY #4

Today is the fourth anniversary of my retirement. I worked it out with my employer so that I could leave when the school went on Thanksgiving break. It gives me one more thing to be thankful for at this time of year. My teaching buddies gave a great party that day and we got lots of gifts that were connected to our planned motorhome travels. Kris, Mike and Sue were there to share the fun with me so it was an all around great day. As I have often said, so far, retirement is much more fun than working.

It's Not Easy Being Green(for a little while)

The Fighting Green Hornets ran into a buzz saw last night in the form of the football team from Bascom Hopewell-Loudon. The final score was 55-20. Hopewell-Loudon was the top ranked team in the state and both teams were 13-0. The game was played in a snow storm with temps in the 20's. That makes the winning team's performance even more impressive. This is the third year in a row that this team is going to play in the state championship game. Malvern certainly had a great season. I saw some pictures of the band online and it looks like they might have enough people to make a medium sized M. Last year they had less than ten, counting the flag squad. Back in the day, we seldom had less than 50.

The First Thanksgiving??

Watch and learn, my friends.

A Visit With My Mom

On Saturday, November 15, Kris, Mike, Kim, Sue, Wickett and I all traveled to Malvern( in one car) to visit with my mom. She hadn't seen the young people in a good while. Since Kris was visiting for the weekend, it worked out well to make the one-hour trip.

Mom is doing very well. She has pretty much recovered from the hip surgery she had last April. She is driving her car again, so that gives her some mobility.

We had a really nice visit and got some pizza from the world famous West End Pizza for dinner. You can click on the picture below to see our happy faces.

Family Reunion

Makin' Soup

Last Friday was "Making Tomato Soup" day at our house. The pictures below show some of the process. We made two batches, using about 22 lbs of tomatoes for each one. We had to buy some tomatoes at the local farmer's market to add to those that we had frozen from our garden. The result was 32 pint jars plus a little extra. The first taste tests are back and are positive. Ten jars are already on their way back to Cincinnati with Kris. The recipe is from my mom and she got it from her mom. Kris, Mark, Mike and Kim have to learn how to do this before Sue and I forget how.

(Just click on the picture to see the whole slide show. It may take a few seconds for pictures to focus.)

Making Soup

Paul Was Sick

On this day, in 1963, Beatle Paul McCartney caught the flu. Hourly updates on his condition were given by the English press. Paul and I share June 18th as a birthday although he is four years older. I can still sing "When I'm 64" but that time has passed for Paul.

One Bad Apple

Maybe Kris has a point with her fear of fruits. I know that I will be more cautious on my next visit to the grocery store.

Madagascar 2

Holding true to our habit of going to animated movies, we went to see Madagascar 2 last night. The Monday special was $5 per ticket and two bags of free popcorn. The movie was great. We remembered all the characters from the original movie and there were some interesting new ones this time. As usual, the penguins were the movers and shakers that got things done. They cracked me up because each time they started on some mission, they would stick in an 8-track of Boston or Journey, etc.

Thanks Teddy and Loook Oouutt!!

Happy 100th anniversary to the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 to protect the habitat of migratory birds.

Plunging off in another direction, I must apologize to Kris, Kim and Mike. In Sue's dream last night, I was driving a vehicle through a hilly area, while sleeping. The vehicle had three rows of seats. I was in the front row, by myself. Kris and Sue were in the second row and Mike and Kim were in the back row. Somehow, we did not crash but Sue said she did a lot of yelling to try and wake me up.

Poetry and Football

Last July, Kris, Matt and I experimented with Haikai, a sort of tag-team method of writing poetry. You can check the July archives to see our results. That was so much fun that I thought that we would try poetry again, but with a different twist. Have you ever heard of clerihew? It is a four-line type of verse that was invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley at age 16. Those of you who want more background can Google, etc.


Clerihew doesn't have as many rules as Haikai. Here we go.

1) The poem should have four lines
2) The first two lines must rhyme and the last two lines must rhyme.
3) The first line must end with the name of a famous person or at least a person that would be familiar to the readers. It can consist of just the name alone.
4) The poem should be funny or whimsical, but not really satire. It definitely should not be mean or nasty.

That's it. If you search around the old internet, you can find examples of this form of verse. Below is one of my attempts. Add yours as a comment over the next week or so and let's see what we create.

Conan O'Brien
makes me laugh 'till I'm cryin'
I'm up late, but then,
I can sleep until ten.

As often happens, poetry naturally leads to discussions of football. Since I haven't been bragging about the good old Malvern Hornets lately, let me correct that. You may remember that last year's basketball team finished the season with a record of 20-0 and then won five tournament games before losing and just missing the Final Four in Columbus. Well, not to be outdone, the 2008 Fighting Green Hornet football team finished their season 10-0 and have won the first two playoff games. They beat Shadyside last night, by a score of 53-24. For perspective, Shadyside had allowed a total of 23 points in their last four games. The closest game all season for the Hornets was 42-21. Next week, Malvern plays Hannibal River. A win in that game means a trip to the State Semi-Finals. Good luck Hornets!

Phase Two

Now that the election is behind us and Barack Obama has been given the job of leading our country to a brighter future, I feel that I can move on to the other two critical issues that would make my world a better place.

(1) When someone has been killed, accidentally or otherwise, and people leave candles, stuffed animals, flowers, etc at the site, the word "makeshift" cannot be used as part of the description of the memorial.

(2) A scandal of any kind should not be identified by attaching -"gate" to the end of the word. That made sense during the Watergate break-in investigation because that was the name of the building.

Isn't it nice that these are the major items that are confronting me at the present time. I wonder if Mr. Obama might create a Cabinet position for me. How about Secretary of Crankiness?

Happy Halloween

Here Are A Couple Of Musical Halloween Videos
Hope You All Have A Spooktacular Halloween.

This is Bobby "Boris" Pickett, doing the song that he originated.
This 2006 performance was his last before he passed away.

The Next Wave

And they said that there would never be

another phenomenon like The Beatles.

My friends, welcome to Detektivbyranamania!!

Hello From Niagara Falls, Ontario

The quartet and wives arrived here about 1:30 yesterday(Wed.) and we moved into our home until Friday, The Embassy Suites. We all have suites that overlook both the American and Canadian Falls. Both of the picture above were taken through our room window. Inside, the rooms have a nice sitting room area, two TVs and a whirlpool tub. There is no cable car running over this whirlpool. That's only for the one in the river.

Today, we all walked along the river to view the falls. Then Jim and Marianne took the Behind The Falls tour while the rest of us rode the Maid of the Mist to near the base of the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls. We have all come back to the hotel now to rest.

Tonight we are going to the Niagara Fallsview Casino. First for the buffet and later a show. After that there will probably be gambling. The temps have been in the low 50's with lots of sun, so for late in October, it's not bad at all.

Canine Politics

John McCain has seven houses but has never owned a Shih Tzu.

John McCain wants to double the import tax on Chinese dogs.

Sarah Palin thinks that Shih Tzu is a type of martial arts.

Ask yourself, are you better off now than you were 28 dog years ago?

Listen to McCain's speeches. He wants us to believe that he is in favor of change. What he really is calling for is CHAINS!

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Chains!!

Vote Obama-Biden

I'm Wickett Halter and I Approve This Message.

High School Football

Sometimes, the most fun comes from activities that you don't plan for in advance. That happened to me last night. Sue and I had gone out to dinner and then we shopped for groceries. I had no plans for the evening but I had read in the paper that Kent Roosevelt was playing at home. I hadn't been to a game for two years or more. Sue wasn't interested in going so I just walked over to the stadium(10 minutes). Since I meet the requirements to be a senior citizen, my ticket was only $3.00.

It was a pleasantly chilly evening and I was dressed for colder weather, so I didn't mind being outdoors for a couple of hours. It turned out that it was Homecoming so I got to see all the ceremonies related to that. It was also the last home game of the year and that means that I also got to see the traditional Script Kent after the game was over. The band does this in the dark with light sticks on their ankles and flashlights inside the tuba bells. Similar to OSU's dotting the "I", the tubas finish off the performance by crossing the "T". It was fun to see this again. We always enjoyed it when Mike and Kris were in the band. Of course, I had a hot dog and a Coke to support the band boosters.

By the way, Roosevelt won the game by a score of 35-7, over Crestwood. That gives them a 7-2 record. They are undefeated in the conference and appear to be headed for the playoffs later this month.

Great Moments In Debate History

Everything Old Is New Again.

Browns 35 Giants 14

There are still many games to play, but last night's win on Monday Night Football was certainly a highlight of the Browns' season so far. 2-3 somehow seems so much better than 1-4. As a Brown's fan, I'm not as rabid as I was in my younger days, but I watch the games most of the time. The outlook seems more positive now, so maybe the playoffs are not out of the question after all. I'm still rooting for the Bengals too (except when they play the Browns). I predict that they will not go 0-16.

Things Are Lookin' Up

Did you see that the Dow only went down 128 points today? I think that I can hear strains of " Happy Days Are Here Again" in the distance. Thank goodness that I put most of my retirement money in a world-wide stable of Ricky Nelson impersonators. Some things never decrease in value. If only I had $60 billion to work with like Warren Buffett. You can bet that he is buying stuff on a large scale.

On another train of thought, we have been watching HGTV this afternoon and seeing people who have purchased houses that have all this neat history associated with them. We bought our house from the former hockey coach at Kent State. ( They are playing the University of Illinois today and tomorrow, Go Flashes) Other than a few duffel bags and a varsity jacket from The University of Chicago, we haven't found too much here of a historical nature. There have been a couple occasions, however, when I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I could hear a faint voice yelling, "Hit Somebody!!".

I want to give a "shoutout" to son, Mike. He has been at home for the past couple of days recuperating from a bout with cellulitis. A series of four spider bites caused a skin infection. This is a very serious problem, especially if not taken care of quickly. My brother had something similar, when he was about 19, from one spider bite on his arm. He woke up with a swollen arm and a bright red line running up the arm. Mike got it under control in good time and, happily, seems to be well on his way back to good health.

Bill Over The Years

I have been corrupted by Kris. She made me aware of Yearbook Yourself and now look at what has happened. Click on the picture below to see the whole parade of "Bills".
Note: Gray beards were very common for high school boys in Malvern.

yearbook

We Have Exercised Our Franchise

Sue and I both have cast our ballots for the 2008 Presidential election and all other state and local issues. Since Ohio allowed people to vote early, starting on Sept. 30th and we had time to spare, we motored over to the courthouse in Ravenna and did our patriotic duty. So now, if anyone tries to talk politics with us, we will just say, " You can talk all you want, but it won't change my vote."

We urge everyone to register and vote for the candidates and issues of their choice. Remember, we get the government that we deserve. Choose wisely.

The Battle Of Ohio

Who? Browns vs Bengals
What? NFL Football
Where? Cincinnati, Ohio
When? Sunday Afternoon, 1:00
Why? Because they have to

Both teams are 0-3, the Browns have been underachieving big time, and they have been hit with injuries. This could be called The Game That Somebody Has To Win. Only time will tell. I cannot talk smack. I am smack-deficient. No, I am smackless.

We Have Been To Sonic And It Was Good.

Wickett's favorite place to go in Florida (or Texas, or Arizona) is Sonic. A & W Rootbeer is second, but not in the same class. Well, last night, we made our first visit to the recently opened Sonic drive-in in nearby Streetsboro. This is the first one that is close enough to our house to make a visit there practical.

The Wickster always likes to go somewhere in the car, but at Sonic, he gets a little bit of cheeseburger. It's about the only people food that he gets. We're not counting the traces of milk and oatmeal that he licks from cereal bowls at breakfast or the occasional small helping of vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, he was happy that Sonic has moved closer to us and Sue and I are glad too.

If any of you are planning to visit this particular Sonic, you have to go into the entrance to the Super WalMart from route 14, then follow the road that goes toward the drive-in. It might just be a result of being a new place to go, but it was packed last night. Cars were driving in loops around the parking lot. waiting for someone to leave. They had lots of carhops, most of them on skates, zipping around like crazy. It was a fun evening. We are wondering if they will stay open during the cold months. Can you put snow tires on skates? I guess, with some of those famous Ohio ice storms, ice skates might work.

You Gotta Love It

I guess we're getting rewarded for putting up with all the bad weather from the weekend before last. Can you believe how great the beginning of our Fall has been? My mom says that she has arranged for weather like this to last all winter. Go mom!! The blue skies, warm sun and cool evenings just make you want to jump for joy (like my lemur friend).

Avast Me Hearties!

Aaay Matey, more than half of "Talk Like A Pirate Day" has expired. Don't worry, there is still time to enjoy the 2008 version of this special day. Since this year's celebration falls on a Friday, many folks plan to make it a whole Pirate Weekend. Check out the official website below and beware because, " 'Ere There Be Pirates".


http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Who Doesn't Love A Kazoo?

Today, Sue, Howard and I traveled from Erie, PA to Eden, New York to visit The Kazoo Company. This small shop is the only place where metal kazoos are made in America. We stopped for lunch at the Four Corners Cafe, right on the square in the village of Eden, then went on to tour the kazoo factory.

The machines that you see in the pictures are over 100 years old and, obviously, still get the job done. They had a very detailed, self-guided tour that explained the 18 steps needed to make a kazoo. Then at the end, I purchased a starter kit and used a hand powered machine to finish making my own kazoo. I did not have to do all 18 steps, only about 5. But, how cool is that anyway?

Since the Akron barbershop chorus did a song last year called The Kazoo Concerto, which involved playing some of the song on kazoos, the other guys will be so jealous when they see my new toy.

Waynesville Rally

We just got back from the Fall Rally of the Cardinal Gulfstreamers. That's our RV club with all members having an RV made by Gulfstream. It was held at Frontier Campground, near Waynesville, Ohio. That's about 60 miles northeast of Cincinnati. We arrived on Thursday after a drive of about 3 1/2 hours. Our first activity was dinner at 6:00. Pulled pork sandwiches and sloppy joe's were supplemented with potato salad, baked beans, veggies, etc. There were 11 RV's at this rally.

On Friday, we toured the Dayton Daily News Building, where they print many of the area newspapers plus other items. It was quite an operation. The big rolls of paper that are shown in the pictures below have about 11 miles of paper in each one. The manager of the plant, who conducted our 90 minute tour, said they use about 770 of these rolls PER WEEK. Wow!!

Friday afternoon, we got a guided tour of downtown Springboro, with emphasis on the connections of this Quaker village to the Underground Railroad. Our guide was very good, and we learned a lot of interesting history of this part of Ohio.

Saturday morning, the men prepared the traditional sausage and pancake breakfast. Then we car pooled to our main activity of the day. To steal a line from Steven Wright, we saw a sign that said "Home Cooking, Any Time", so we chose lunch during the Renaissance. Now that I have that joke out of the way, here is what we really did.

The Ohio Renaissance Festival is an attraction that was about a 30 minute drive from our campground. This is the 19th year for the festival. They have it on weekends, from the end of August until the middle of October. Sue and I had never been there, so we were not sure what to expect. We imagined a large field with tents and people in Renaissance costumes. Well, what we got was a lot more. This was a large village with many permanent buildings, shops and hundreds of townspeople. The characters ranged from the queen and other members of royalty down to the common men and women of the town. I had talked to an aristocratic looking fellow when we first arrived. He found out that I was the president of our group. Later, when we met him in the village, he started yelling, "This man is important, do not look at him". There were a lot of shows and places to buy souvenirs and of course, there were places to buy food. So we did have lunch during the Renaissance, sort of. Kris and Mark had driven up from Cincinnati on Friday evening and stayed overnight to go to the festival with us. It was great to see them and to have them go with us on Saturday.

Saturday night, we went to dinner at The Golden Lamb in nearby Lebanon. This inn has been providing meals and lodging to travelers since 1815. It is very famous in southwestern Ohio. The food was great and we were able to wander through the three floors of the inn to see the way they had all the rooms decorated. The rooms were all named for U. S. presidents. Legend says that the ghost of a young girl named Sarah haunts the third floor. We did not see any signs of her.

Sunday morning, we had a continental breakfast, prepared by the ladies, said our goodbyes and headed for home. They were predicting possible hurricane strength winds for the Cincinnati area later in the day and we didn't want any part of that.

Tomorrow, we take the motorhome to Erie, PA to visit Howard, David and Barbara at Howard's house. We will need to rest up this evening. Having fun can be tiring.

Hot Water, We Love You

After a week with no hot water, the water heater is working again. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Ok, I Can't Help It

I guess that John McCain was telling the truth when he said that Sarah Palin was "Commander-In-Chief" of the Alaska National Guard.

No Comment

You Don't Know What You've Got 'Till It's Gone

Tuesday night, as we were getting ready to turn in, Sue noticed that the hot water wasn't really that hot. I checked the hot water heater and, sure enough, the pilot light was out. I went through the steps to re-light it twice, but no luck. I tried it again the next morning, then called a repair company. They couldn't come until Thursday morning, and then we found out that it needed a part that could only be ordered from Whirlpool. I called, ordered the part (no charge because it was still under warranty) and paid $15 to have it shipped overnight. When it arrived, I called the repair guys again and they couldn't come back until 10:00 on Monday.

So, cold showers have been the normal for us. Sue is going to heat some water on the stove to help with doing dishes, since we can't use the dishwasher. We may have to do a cold water load of laundry. Monday can't get here soon enough.

Why Can't We All Get Along?

A Whole New Level

In my last post, I mentioned that word on the street was that John McCain planned to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by marrying Saudi Arabia. Obviously, I only knew part of his plan. Yesterday, he made it clear that his plan is to have Sarah Palin marry Saudi Arabia. You have to admit that she would be much more attractive to any country. Even at my age, I am having PG-13 -rated, harem girl visuals.

Hurry Up November.

Well, one convention is winding down and the other will fire up next week. How about the Democratic Convention. Barack Obama! Who saw that one coming? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that John McCain will be chosen by the Republicans next week. At least, Denver and St. Paul will get an economic boost. Other than that, I compare the conventions to Spring Break in college. It's a wild time between regular classes (campaigning) and final exams (the election).

By all indications, the rhetoric may get even nastier than it already is. And if you watch TV, it's going to take planning to see what you want to see and avoid the political ads. I hope that people in other countries are paying close attention to our political process. It would help them understand the last 7.5 years.

I did hear that John McCain has a new plan that will increase our supply of cheaper petroleum. He wants to marry Saudi Arabia.

In a related story, here is McCain's economic stimulus package. If he is elected, watch for yours in the mail.

Rough Riders Win

I don't plan on posting Kent Roosevelt football results all season, but since last night was the first game, I thought that at least Mike and Kris would appreciate a little information about their old high school.

Final Score: Roosevelt 35 -Kenston 0 Interesting facts: (1) Kenston had won 4 of the last 5 meetings (2) The "new" Kent coach is John Nemec, who retired in 1998 after 23 years as head coach and now has returned. (3) Those three girls in the band picture may not have been born when Mike and Kris were in high school. (sorry kids, but it makes me feel old too)

The Younger Generation Shows Promise

To continue Kris' food theme:

What's that fish you're eating? I just finished reading a story about teenagers in New York City who collected fish samples (sushi) from area restaurants and sent them to the University of Guelph for genetic barcode testing. Results indicate that up to 25% of the samples were cheaper (or endangered) varieties that had been labeled as more expensive (or non-threatened) types. They are not sure if the restaurants are to blame, or if they were duped by their suppliers, but something smells ........., well, you know. We need to get these youngsters on the trail of other critical issues like: Why is Seth Rogen a movie star?

Chorus At Stan Hywet Hall

Here is a picture of us in front of the Manor House at Stan Hywet with the Goodyear Band. The guy in the blue shirt is not our goalie. He just happened to be in the band and the chorus and the band played first, so he wore blue.

The Good News

As strange as this may sound, my computer was not turned on at all on Sunday, 8/17. And as far as I can tell, there has not yet been a rift in the space-time continuum. Cross your fingers.

It was great having Kris visit us over the weekend. We shared news from Cincinnati and Kent, sampled food in area restaurants, watched some of the Olympics, and visited with Mike. We also just "hung out".

Kris even got to see and hear my barbershop quartet in action. We had a gig at 10:30 on Sunday for the Penn-Ohio chapter of the Model A Owner's Club. They were celebrating their 50th anniversary at The Ledges shelter in Virginia Kendall Park (part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreational Area). It was a beautiful morning, the audience was great and the cars were fantastic. They had over 60 Model A's there. All colors and body styles. We wore our old time outfits and they fit the mood very well.



After that gig, we went to Mike and Kim's apartment and picked up Mike to go out for lunch. (Kim is in Maryland visiting her twin sister Kelly and Kelly's husband, Chuck). It brought back memories, going out with just the four of us. We don't do that very often. I couldn't imagine Mike and Kris in the 3 ft tall range anymore. Those days are gone.

Sue and Kris went home to Kent after lunch and Mike and I continued on to the next barbershop gig. We joined about 40 other chorus members as well as both of our quartets for an afternoon concert on the front lawn of Stan Hywet Hall in Akron. Stan Hywet was built by the Seiberling family, prominent folks in the Akron rubber industry. We had to get there early because the chorus was using our sound system( from the old Time Travelers classic rock band days) and we needed to get it set up and do the sound check. We shared this gig with the Akron Goodyear Concert Band. Folks brought chairs and sat under the big trees on the "Great Meadow" in front of the manor house to enjoy the music. The Seiberlings put a stone above the main door with a Latin inscription saying " Not For Us Alone". I think they would be pleased to see everyone there enjoying their house and gardens.

It was about 5:30 when I finally got home, after dropping Mike off at his house. I was ready to relax by that time, so I did. That helps to explain why the computer never got switched on.

Today, I am catching up on flower and vegetable watering, picking some tomatoes in preparation for making a new batch of soup and doing some reading. No rest for the wicked though. We have have a quartet gig tonight, near Medina, at Rinky Dink's. It's one of those family fun places( mini-golf, bumper boats, batting cages, etc). We stroll and sing and we get pizza. Sue is going along, as are family members of the other guys in the quartet. On Wednesday afternoon, we are doing another stroll and sing at an ice cream social in downtown Akron. Hobbies can be a lot of work, at times. We are sometimes amazed that there are so many jobs available for our quartet. Our pay scale is very flexible (we sometimes do retirement homes for just a snack, etc.). On the other end of the scale, we have a gig like the one we are doing over the Labor Day weekend. The big outlet mall near Lodi, Ohio has been remodeled and they are having a "re-opening" celebration. We stroll and sing from 3-7 on Sat., Sun., and Monday. They are paying $550 plus $50 gas money for EACH DAY!! I love that old, barbershop style.

We don't split up the money when we get paid. It goes into an interest paying quartet checking account. Our lead singer is a financial planner so he set this all up, gives us statements and takes care of filing tax returns. We have been spending money on clothes for our performances, music, out of town trips, and meals before or after gigs. The plan is to save enough to take guys and wives on a trip somewhere like Las Vegas or maybe on a cruise. That should be fun.