Music City, USA

We arrived at David and Barbara's this afternoon about 3:00. We got settled in and even got to visit with Sara, Emerson and Carly for a bit. Both Sue and I held Carly and did no damage. The four of us drove to downtown Nashville for dinner at the Big River Brewery and then stopped by a local karaoke bar for a bit. Yours truly sang "Pink Cadillac" for the folks and it went over pretty well. Tomorrow, the barbershop convention begins, so there will be more to tell.

We're In The Queen City

We arrived safely in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon. We visited with Kris and Mark and then went out for dinner. The highlight of the evening, after a wonderful tour of greater Cincy (inside joke), we had front row seats for a performance of The Swarthy Band (with Mark on drums). They were the featured band at West Fest and they rocked the house. Today we all slept late. Tomorrow, we will head for Hendersonville to visit with all the Tennessee Moomys, and attend the International Convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society, in Nashville. Wickett did not make this trip. He is spending a week at The Heavenly Hounds Hotel and Spa, where Mitzi, the owner will spoil him and he will probably lose his voice from barking at the other dogs (as he has in the past).

38 years and counting

On June 27, 1970, Sue made the wisest decision of her life, and remarkably, so did I. Not everyone is lucky enough to find the person that will appreciate you when you are doing ok and put up with you when you're not. We are two of the lucky ones.

Wilds of Ohio

We have always considered our neighborhood to be "in town". Lately, we have begun to rethink that notion. Along with the mandatory chipmunks, gray squirrels and black squirrels, we have recently seen, in our fenced-in back yard:

1.) A groundhog
2.) An opossum
3.) rabbits (ok, not so strange, but the number of them is more than usual)
4.) Large hawks, on the fly. (where's Wickett?)

We have also seen deer in the front of the house, strolling around our circle, and yesterday, on our way out for some shopping, we saw a large, red fox. I don't remember seeing one of those, especially this big, since I left the farm.


Unrelated FYI: On this day, in 1963, Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote the song, "She Loves You", in a hotel room in Newcastle, England. Coincidently, Pete Best was writing, "Ringo?", on the men's room wall at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Slightly related FYI: We did not see this guy in our neighborhood.

Wow!!

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "catch like a girl".


I have been duped!. Apparently, this video is fake, done as a Gatorade commercial. I never liked Gatorade anyway, so I am swearing off the stuff for life. Drink tap water. No plastic bottles sitting in a landfill for 300 years. Bah Humbug!! Sorry to any of you who were exposed to this false information. When I taught high school science, I occasionally told kids that rocks were alive, so maybe this is payback time.

Is It Just Me??

Do you think that the 16 year old James Garfield from the last post resembles Ellen DeGeneres? Maybe a little? I can hear Mike and Kris saying, " That man has too much free time!"

Some Portage County History

Back in the late 1840's, a big, blond-haired, blue-eyed teenager, known as Big Jim, walked barefoot on the towpaths of the Pennsylvania-Ohio Canal. He had taken the job as a helmsman, using a whip to drive the horses and mules that pulled the canal boats, to help support his widowed mother and the rest of his family. There are many stories about how, despite his age, he was able to more than hold his own with the tough, older men that worked on the canal.

After an accident that resulted in his being pushed into the canal, his mother convinced him that maybe he wasn't cut out for that kind of work. Some time later, in Franklin Mills, which is now known as Kent, he was nominated for his first public office, a seat in the Ohio Senate. Big Jim is known to most people today as James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. And that's the rest of the story.

Hold On Tight, Howard!!

Waldameer Park, in Erie, PA, recently unveiled a new roller coaster. It's called the Ravine Flyer II. Sue's dad had expressed an interest in riding this baby. We think, at 92, maybe a virtual ride is better. So enjoy and ride as many times as you like. Anybody else feel brave?

The YouTube link is written below:

Just copy and paste and get ready to scream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpdQ5VXo9B8&feature

Seeking Help

So, Mr. Halter, when did you start comparing your daughter's boyfriend to a panda?











Enough with the panda references!!

Post # 100 for 2008

With this post, I have reached the century mark for the current calendar year. Last year, I only had 12, but then I didn't start the blog until Dec. 17th. The remainder of this post needs no explanation ( or you could look at the end of the last post).

Another Birthday Wish

Yesterday, I talked about my birthday. Today, let's all wish Carly Meador a happy, 1 week birthday. I hope that her week has been as enjoyable as my 62 years. She probably has been too busy getting settled in at home with mom and dad and big brother, Emerson to have seen the Indiana Jones movie, like we did. Or even Kung Fu Panda, which we saw last Monday. That's ok, she has lots of time.

Speaking of Kung Fu Panda, and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, both Sue and I, independently, saw a lot of Mark in the panda character(Jack Black). We are not talking about body type here, but expression, mannerisms, outlook on life, etc. We loved the character, just like we love Mark. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! We also love Kris, Mike and Kim, but they don't seem to have the panda connection.

I really must be getting old. In my birthday post yesterday, I used a distant photo of the cheerleaders, and a closeup of the mascot. I'll correct that in the next post.

Happy Birthday To Me

On this day, in 1946, little Billy Halter came into the world, to carry on the family line of those brave Alsatian farmers who came to America in 1832 and carved out a new life in Ohio. My 4x great grandfather, Ludwig, brought his wife and also his son, Joseph and his family to the Stark County area. Ludwig, his wife and some other relatives, moved on to Scott County, Missouri after about four years, but Joseph and his family stayed in Ohio. Two more generations of Josephs, a Florentz and a George, and bingo, there was me.

We celebrated my special day by going to see the new Indiana Jones movie and then to BW3's in Kent for dinner. While there, we met the cheerleaders for the Cleveland Gladiators arena football team along with Rudi, the lion mascot. Rudi sat at our table for a while and wrote out an order for 12 zebra wings on a napkin. The waitress took it, but the wings hadn't arrived by the time we left. We also got two free Gladiators tee shirts. That's a lot of excitement for an old guy. Nap time.

Fun At Apple Corps

My first Apple Corps weekend has come and gone, and it was a blast. We had classes on Friday and Saturday. There were a lot of them to choose from, but we had made our choices when we sent in the registration. You could only fit in a maximum of 8 classes, so there are many interesting ones left for me to take if I go again next year.

We lived in the college dorms, which was a real jolt of nostalgia for me. The one I was in was air conditioned and had two person rooms with a common lounge area for each pair of rooms. I've seen much worse. Son Mike made the comment that he never envisioned sitting in a college dorm drinking beer with his dad. We will have these moments to remember.

We got three meals everyday with lots of items to choose from. I am eating rather sparingly now at home to average out what I ate down there. There was a long, very steep hill to climb to get from the cafeteria to where the classes were. That helped to work off some of the food. There was a fantastic, outdoor BBQ Saturday evening.




Kenyon or Hogwarts??

I participated in the MEGACHORUS, along with over 200 other guys. We learned two new songs at rehearsals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon. Talk about a cram course.

Each year, on Friday evening they hold a pick-up quartet contest. When you register, you put your name and what part you sing into a box. For the contest, they randomly draw a lead, a bass, a baritone and a tenor from the boxes and you have five minutes, or until the quartet before you finishes, to pick a name for your quartet and figure out what song to sing. Very hectic, but a lot of fun. I was in two different quartets. At the end, the two judges picked the best of the 26 groups and one of my quartets won the top prize. We got little engraved trophies and everything. It's all about the bling.

On Saturday, we had the big closing show. Two choruses, one from Canton and one from the Columbus area performed. The MEGACHORUS also did our two numbers. Then came the quartets. They started by having the pickup winners sing. We called ourselves, Mentalpause. Then there were five more quartets, four of which had qualified for the International Convention in Nashville, in July. So we heard some top notch quartet singing.

Mike's quartet, The Summit Chordsmen

There had been an outdoor wedding on campus Saturday afternoon and the reception was being held in one of the buildings that evening. Immediately after our show, about 200 of us went over and gathered outside the building. The bride and groom and the wedding party came out and we serenaded them with two barbershop love songs, Let Me Call You Sweetheart and Sweet and Lovely. They were surprised and thanked us over and over again. The bride did refuse to hug all of us, however.

Then it was back to the dorm area for an "Afterglow". For non-barbershoppers, that loosely translates as a lot of singing and drinking. We had to check out of the dorm by 9:00 on Sunday. We stopped at McD's in Mount Vernon for breakfast and then did the 90 minute drive home. What a great time!!

Daughter-in-law Kim asked if we had RA's in the dorms. I said that we didn't, but considering the average age of the participants (the oldest guy was 95), we probably could have used RN's.

Welcome Carly

At 7:51, Nashville time, Carly Meador was born. She was a very precise 7 lbs, 0 oz. Parents, Adam and Sara are very proud and mom and baby are both doing fine. Great aunt and uncle, Sue and Bill can't wait to see Carly when we travel to Tennessee at the end of this month. Grandpa Dave has promised pictures, so I will include them in future posts.

On To Apple Corps

I am leaving this afternoon at 2:00 for Gambier, Ohio and the campus of Kenyon College. It is the annual weekend of barbershop instruction known as Apple Corps. Friday and Saturday, I will be attending classes related to barbershop and singing in general. There are 12 guys from our chapter that are attending this year. My quartet, Clear Choice is going and also Mike's quartet, The Summit Chordsmen. The other four men are just going as "lone singers". This my first year, but the others tell me that, since Kenyon is one of the most expensive colleges in the country, the facilities and food are very good. I know that there will be a lot of singing going on.

In case you are curious about the "Apple Corps" name (or even if your not), our barbershop district is the Johnny Appleseed District (JAD). Since they sponsor the workshop, they chose an apple-related name. Our magazine is called The Cider Press. No one ever said that barbershoppers weren't corny.

I'm not taking my laptop with me, so there may not be any posts about the weekend until I get home on Sunday. I know that Kenyon will have computer access, but I may be too busy to take advantage of it.

Fun Camping Weekend

The Rally at Pier-Lon in Medina went very well. I think that everyone had a good time and the weather cooperated much more than we thought that it would. Once we got by the "stuck in the mud" incident, (see earlier post) , all was good.

Even though we live about 20 minutes from Peninsula, Sue and I had never taken a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway. We had to wait a bit for the train to arrive and then, because they were behind schedule, we couldn't stop at the Canal Visitor's Center as we had planned to do. Oh well, some other time.

Play this video to watch the train.


We wrapped things up with breakfast on Sunday morning. Then we sang "On The Road Again", with guitar accompaniment by yours truly. This has become a tradition and we change the lyrics slightly to say, "The life I love is going camping with my friends." Apologies to Willie Nelson.

Our Fall Rally is being planned for mid to late September, in the Cincinnati area.

Camping Adventures

We are camping with the Cardinal Gulfstreamers this weekend at Pier-Lon Campground in Medina , Ohio. It is the annual Spring/Summer Rally and this one was only about an hour drive for us. As often happens, unexpected events are part of the camping process. When we got to the campground, about 3:30 on Thursday, there was a nice available site that was a "back-in". As I pulled into a grassy area across from the spot, stopped and attempted to back up, the rear dual wheels just spun in the mud. The clay soil was softer than it looked due to rains on Wednesday. Under the 11 plus tons of the bus, the clay turned to butter and would give no traction. I tried putting some wood planks that I carry with me behind the wheels, but still didn't have enough traction to get the rear tires up on the boards.

We have RV coverage as part of our AAA road service, so at 4:30, we made a call. They came in less than an hour. I think they underestimated the size of our vehicle, because they didn't send one of their really big tow trucks. Attempts to winch the bus out onto the road just started to pull the tow truck sideways. The next plan was to reposition the truck and try pulling straight out. No luck there either. Finally, two separate cables were hooked to the motorhome to pull in two slightly different directions and reduce the tension on each cable. There were concerns about snapping the cable if we only used one. That did the trick. We were finally able to get the rear wheels onto the solid road bed and after that we were in great shape. By 6:30, we were parked in our site and went to the pavilion for our picnic supper.

Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, kielbasa and all the fixins. There are two other barbershoppers in this club, a bass and a lead. With my baritone, we sang a few numbers. All we needed was a tenor. (Mike??) After food and singing, we were recharged to go back to our site and finishing getting everything hooked up and organized.

Then we went back to the pavilion for a campfire. I had been asked to bring my acoustic guitar, so I played a few numbers and we enjoyed the fire until the mosquitoes arrived and chased us indoors.

Today we had breakfast together and then went to Medina to visit the A.I. Root candle factory and store. As group president, I had an officers meeting this afternoon. Then we played some card games and ladder golf. At 4:30,(hey we're old), we went to the Coppertop restaurant at the Cherokee Hills Golf Club for dinner. Not exactly roughing it, huh?

The turmoil of the "Bus in the Mud" incident is a distant memory now and we are looking forward to more fun tomorrow.

Braggin' 'Bout My Town

Living in a small town that is next to a large university was not my goal in life, but I am very happy to have lived in such a place, Kent, OH, for the past 21 years. For at least nine months out of the year, we have a high percentage of "under 25" residents. I think that helps keep the rest of us young, or remind us why we're glad we grew up. Either one is good for the soul.

The Cuyahoga River runs through the center of town. The quality of the water in the Cuyahoga has improved greatly over the past 40 years and Kent has done it's part. The pictures show the results of the dam reconstruction project that was completed a few years ago. It preserves the basic dam structure that has been a landmark in Kent since 1836, but also allows for free flow of the river. Canoe and kayak enthusiasts are no longer prevented from traveling through Kent, as they once were. The fish population is growing rapidly too as the water quality gets better. I enjoy spending a couple of hours of "catch and release" fishing right in the pool below the dam. It is usually a good spot for fishing and if they're not biting, the scenery is great. Notice that the water doesn't flow over the dam in the usual way. There are large pipes that carry the water to the top part of the dam and let it flow over. Valves can be closed to stop the flow. You still get the picturesque dam but without the roadblock. The city, state and the EPA all played a big part in the design and construction. Nice work!

Two Become One

Everyone is entitled to an opinion about politics, even me. As odd as the following scenario may seem, strange things sometimes happen. So here is my prediction: Barack Obama yields to party pressure and chooses Hillary Clinton as his running mate. John McCain, in an attempt to counter this race/gender combo chooses Condoleezza Rice to be on his presidential ticket. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. If all the bigots and gender-biased voters avoid the voting booth , this could be Ralph Nader's big chance.

Congratulations Trevor!!

Yesterday, we went to the clubhouse at wonderful, carefree Lake Mohawk, on the outskirts of Malvern, OH. We were there to celebrate my brother's son Trevor's graduation from high school. The ceremony is actually today but we partied early. Jim and Cheryl (parents of Trevor) threw quite a bash. There were many friends and relatives, lots of sunshine and enough food to feed the whole town.

Trevor will be attending Marietta College in the fall and will be playing basketball there. The picture above shows that, even at 6'6", Trevor doesn't tower over dad, mom or sister, Alyssa. Tall family. Incidentally, Alyssa is just finishing her third year at Ohio University.

My mom was able to attend the party. Sue and I dropped by her house and took her to the lake. She had been rehabbing her repaired, broken hip at a nursing home, but was released to go home for good at 8:00 that morning. Good timing. She is glad to be home and is getting around with the help of a walker. Considering the extent of her operation, I think that her progress is amazing. The operation was a little more than a month ago. Mike and Kim came to the party as well , so it was a nice chance for them to see mom too.

The festivities ended a little after 5:00 pm. We drove mom back home and visited with her a while. Then Sue and I took off for Canton, to attend the annual "Cabaret" of the Hall of Fame barbershop chorus at 8:00. It was a great show. The chorus sang lots of songs and they had four guest quartets, one of which was a female quartet, "Cascade", from the Sweet Adelines. There was free pop and beer, chips, popcorn and pretzels. Also, people brought food to share. There were over 30 of us from the Akron chapter in attendance. Fun, fun, fun!! It was about 11:15 when we got home. Since Mike and Kim didn't go to the show in Canton, they drove by our house when they left Malvern, to let Wickett roam around the backyard a bit and "take care of business." He was still glad to see us when we got home. It was a nice afternoon and evening. Today, we are taking it easy.