Backend of June

 

Dr March 2 Timer – gotta quit meeting like this

It was time for my semi-annual dental check-up with Dr. March. The last such visit back in mid-December proved quite memorable. After my cleaning and exam, I shared that I had been experiencing some sharp pain in the upper right rear. That ultimately resulted in a root canal shortly after Xmas.

This go-around, after a quick cleaning from my hygienist, Shana, and then a thorough exam with Dr. March lead to the discovery of a missing filling in tooth # 17. We scheduled a follow-up appointment for the 25^th (brother Glenn’s 66^th birthday) to address it. The follow-up appointment on the 25^th went smoothly, though it took a number of shots to become comfortably numb.

                                                                                  

GAI concert

For our 17^th wedding anniversary, Mindy bought me tickets to the Gregory Alan Isakov show way back in February, the day before we left on our anniversary ski trip. Actually, I drove down to Kemba Live to buy/fetch the tickets since they were experiencing technical difficulties with their website that mid-February afternoon. I recall it being an unusually pleasant mid-February day, weatherwise.

GAI has become one of my faves after first discovering him via Spotify 4 or so years ago. We last saw him March 2022 at the Newport. Love his music as well as the life he leads. The Kemba show was really good sans the extreme heat and humidity. It’s summer, so I guess that’s what one should expect.

 

Jen’s Pool Party – Strawberry Moon

We met Jen at Gallo’s a few years ago. At the time, she was one of a handful of new bartenders. She’s now the GM now and does a super job managing all aspects of the business, at least from a repeat customer’s perspective. She and her family recently moved into a home near us in Golfview Woods, which abuts to Wilson Rd & Raymond Golf courses. They have an inground pool too, with direct access to the fairway of Raymond’s hole #15.

Once darkness set in, we ventured out their more than convenient rear gate onto the fairway to watch June’s Strawberry full moon rise. Nothing short of spectacular! Holy cow! Good people, good party, good fun!

Tim Easton Nocterra

Became a Tim Easton fan a few years back seeing him for the first time at Natellie’s GV with co-worker and friend Bill R, who I spend a great deal of time hanging with these days. We ski/travel together, and frequently meet up for food and drinks.

We made plans to meet at Nocterra Brewing in Powell to see Tim Easton, my 3^rd time seeing him perform. Bill was taking Aimee, a fine young woman he met in Colorado during our last ski trip in April, and ultimately made arrangements for her to fly here to check-out CMH. Meanwhile, it was another sultry evening in Columbus, with temps in the 90s coupled ultra-high humidity.  

We drove separately but quickly ran into Bill and Aimee as they were seeking out a hard-to-come by parking spot. We didn’t realize it when we planned the outing that it was also Powell’s summer fest weekend, which effectively blocks off the entire small downtown village for a weekend celebration. Lots of music, food, and family fun that culminates with fireworks.

I hadn’t visited Noceterra brewing past, so I was very much looking forward to it. Bill and Aimee picked up a pizza from a Powell favorite, Brooklyn Pizza, and passed the pizza off to us as they drove by seeking a parking spot since we were already parked and right near Nocterra’s outdoor seating area.

We enjoyed pizza, beer and Tim Easton music for about 90 minutes. As the show wrapped-up we agreed to a little bar hopping in the quaint Powell downtown. Lots of cool bars, restaurants packed into a few blocks. Believe we stopped in Prohibition, the back bar, which is somewhat garage-like with several overhead doors they opened to the night air. Only Aimee and I ordered formal drinks, Pretty sure Bill and Mindy opted for water. When I saw they had Weller 12 year, I excitedly ordered a pour. Yikes! Later, after the firework show, and when I closed our tab, I learned that the single pour was a whopping $54!

The firework show was cool, but the again lame compared to Columbus’s RWB! Still, a fun event with good people. It was nice to meet Aimee. She was fun to hang out with.

 

A Couple new high-rise Deck Chairs (story later)

                                                                       

ComFest ’24 & Delivering the Good’s

We were much looking forward to Comfest ’24 (Friday, June 28 afternoon thru Sunday, June 30). We try to go at least once each summer provided we’re not out of town on vacation. The stagnant weather pattern was holding at hot, steamy & sultry with the threat of pop-up storms.

We made loose plans to meet our friends Mike & Kris. We met Mike & Kris at Gallo’s (go figure) a few years ago and became quick friends. Heck, Mike even joined us on our last February ski trip. The two of them love their live music. In fact, I think it’s fair to share that Fish is their favorite band. They travel lots to see them.

We made arrangements to meet them at the Comfest pavilion stage. And don’t you know that Tim Easton was slated to play that very stage around 330pm. When we arrived another fun band was playing, the HellRoy’s, from Arkansas. They’re musically tight with almost comedic lyrics. Give ‘em a listen. Had the crowd very much into it.

After the HellRoy’s wrapped up, Mike & Kris begged off for food somewhere on High St. Mindy and I stayed back to walk the festival but quickly returned to catch at least some of Tim Easton’s show. Happily, he proved much better sounding than he did the week prior at Nocterra.

After about 30 minutes of Tim E., we took in the fabric of the festival. Lots of cool artisans and such. We bought a bed sheet-like concert blanket dyed with a colorful bodhi tree pattern. We then sought out a lemonade for Mindy all the while making our way to the venue’s mainstage to catch a Grateful Dead-like band, Terrapin Moon. We showed up in time to catch their last 3 or 4 songs. Again, a really tight band with a large fun-loving crowd.

Before bagging the festival, we headed across Buttles Av. to the Fresh Water house owned by Tom & Brett, long-time friends of brother Craig. They always host a Comfest party on their porch, and always make us feel more than welcome. We didn’t stay long, however. After all, it was 430pm and we still had to rest up before heading to Mike and Kris’ place for another friends’ 62^nd birthday cookout party.

We got home near 5pm where both of us took short naps. We agreed to bring potato salad to the party. I wisely made it the afternoon prior. We talked about Ubering but ultimately drove, figuring worst case we could leave our car and Uber home if the need arose. The shindig was slated to begin at 7pm. Think we arrived closer to 730pm.

Mike and Kris have a cool home in Arlington that sets up real nice for indoor/outdoor parties. Save for the sultry weather, this one was no exception.

Lot of familiar peeps on hand including Chris Mc., Joan and Amy (Joan’s bday) Mike’s friend since childhood, Clay, Chad, Amy’s sister and boyfriend, Baylee, Jeffrey, and Jen. There were several others too. Food, fun and friends. Turned out to be a super good time. Spent the last couple hours of the evening chatting it up with Saki and Maria, who we recognized but hadn’t previously spent much time with. Turned out they were quite fun and very interesting. We hung out until almost 2am EDT. For the last couple hours, minus about half a Coors Light, I drank water. I was fine to drive us home.

June backyard wildlife

                                                                                    

Dad’s Day

 We celebrated Father’s Day June 16, which this year was shared with GD Kaileigh’s 23^rd b-day. Understandably, she didn’t make it over, but Lindsey and Ashley did, along with my Gkids and spouses.  We kept it rather simple – snacks, Minelli’s pizza and wings, and the Key lime cheesecake that I made the day prior.

For Mindy, I think the highlight was hanging out with Rocky & Landon playing spoons and Jenga. I enjoyed it all. Thanks for putting the celebration together, Mindy & Bella!

 Heatwave Coming!

Grilled Hot Dogs with a side of Pride

B-in-law Craig and husband Jeff hosted a simple cookout at their Franklinton home where the plan was to feed locals passing by throughout the day. The fare was simple, hot dogs, potato and pasta salad, previously frozen desserts, and water. Mindy and me arrived shortly before 2pm. A few others showed up too; Tony & Chris - friends of Craig & Jeff, and nephew Joe and his husband John. C & J really had no idea how well the event would go. Would they run out of food, or would they find themselves with loads of leftovers?

Once the local foot traffic brought a few patrons, it didn’t take long before word of mouth spread throughout the immediate neighborhood that there was free food available. Several eaters commented that they hadn’t eaten anything for multiple days. Fair to say, it proved to be a cathartic event. Great job, C & J.

Star Gazing Critters

For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been star gazing almost nightly (some might argue obsessively) looking for and spotting low-altitude satellites making their way across the star lit skies. Some nights I’ve seen as many as 17. An added bonus to my nightly star gazing has been the unexpected spectacle of watching a raccoon family climb a mulberry tree that hangs over the creek along the west side of our home to harvest ripe berries in the dark of the night. How cute! Their eyes glow gold in a flashlight.

HDPE

Last spring we bought 4 Adirondack chairs and a fire table for our deck, not for sure how well they’d hold up in the elements or for that matter, how they’d fair aesthetically. Much to our delight, they’re incredible. All along, Mindy had been pushing for a couple more, but instead of the standard Adirondack, she really wanted a couple barstool height chairs for sipping morning coffee under our new patio umbrella’s. To accommodate, but also to save a little money, I bought a couple via Amazon instead of the same Polywood vendor we used last year. Most HDPE chairs are very pricey! I got what seemed like an incredible deal via an Amazon 3^rd party seller. They arrived 4 days after ordering. Ordered on Monday, they arrived on Thursday. I strategically had Micah help me carry the heavy box into my living room office for Friday indoor assembly in the comfort of AC.

I cracked the box opened and carefully sorted all the pieces shortly after my Friday morning walk. All looked to be in order save for the stainless-steel hardware of which there was none! I combed through the contents a second and third time. Still no hardware! Dang it! With little hesitation, I reached out to the supplier via Amazon.com and eventually opted to use the 800 #. On the 2^nd try my call was answered by a well-meaning customer service rep, Eunice, who was obviously located offshore and likely in the ASPAC region somewhere. She assured me several times that they’d make it right quickly. Great. She asked that I send a picture of the damaged part??? I asked how I might take and send a picture of missing hardware. 😊 I sent off an email to that she provided along with a photo of all the parts, sans hardware. We’ll see how long it takes to remedy.

Gloria’s Milestone

The Way You Look Tonight - Tony Bennett

For the last several months Mindy & her sibs had been planning Gloria’s 90^th bday celebration, a milestone many aren’t blessed to reach. The celebration was hosted at JPs BBQ event space located at Bolton Airfield, a venue many ‘siders aren’t aware of. Nonetheless, the venue is more than ideal for a large event, and the catering, including BBQ fare, beyond decent. Collectively the family chose to self-coordinate most of the party accoutrements, including decorations, music, photos, etc.  And thanks to lots of work and careful planning on behalf of the Thompson kids and extended family, I think the event was a huge hit.

Gloria & her mother

                                                           Gloria's wedding dress

                                                          Gloria's B-day cake

We celebrated her actual birthday at her place Tuesday afternoon, June 11^th. First summertime event hosted at her place in a number of years. Special thanks to Mindy and Joe for cleaning and prepping her patio for summer!

It's Summertime!

Flaming Lips - It's Summertime

Mindy enjoying a summery lavender drink at Milestone 229 Saturday, June 1

The new and improved fountains at Bicentennial Park

The Understory - Wolf's Ridge new brewpub restaurant and patio

Fawn playing in the creek by our home last week

Power washing the stucco on the house

Mindy's principal retires - year end party at our house

Young eyes!

New kick - flashlight photography!

 

                                                            Yummy summer drinks!

Seventeen - Arcturus & Musk

 

Arcturus & Musk             

 

Relaxing on the deck Sunday evening with Mindy, my gaze turned skyward searching for the brightest star the naked eye could see. Quickly I spotted what turned out to be Arcturus, one of the first and brightest stars visible in the early June night sky. It’s located near dead center between the east/west horizons at about 2 o’clock north to south.

I kept my gaze right there intent on observing more stars coming into focus while the sky continued to darken. Suddenly flush with goose bumps, I watched what appeared to be a star moving swiftly north to south. It looked different than a high-flying jet might appear. Instead of flashing light, and or multi colors, it was fixed and bright white.

At first, I thought it nothing more than an anomaly, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Another 30 seconds hadn’t passed when I spotted yet another taking a similar trajectory. This time I excitedly shared my citing with Mindy, who was playing on her phone. She caught a quick glimpse just before it faded into the southern sky. I explained that this was the 2^nd I’d spotted in roughly the same spot.

No sooner had the 2^nd one faded when a third appeared, this time passing just west of Arcturus but on a similar north south trajectory. Now having Mindy’s undivided attention, she spotted it too. What the heck!

We quickly eliminated ISS since we’d spotted three in the same area. Phones in hand, we both Googled feverishly looking for an explanation, but without keeping one eye skyward. By the time it was all said and done, we’d spotted seventeen such objects. The last few taking different trajectories, but with the same physical characteristics.

Google convinced us both that we were witnessing Starlink satellites moving about their low-orbit home. Further, this apparently is a common experience 1-3 days after they deploy, which Starlink deployed 60 such satellites on Friday May 31.

Embarking on a New Chapter in Life - Nixon's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Nixon - You've brought so much joy into our lives. Today is a big day for you!  We are so excited for you. 

Taking Cincinnati by Storm - Lucius Q, BoH & Reds

 

A Tribute to Mom

 

Thank family and friends for coming. Special shout out to Charles and his wife, Melissa, as well as pastor Joe. I also want to thank the nurses and staff at the hospitals and nursing homes who cared for mom over the last 3 months. Some of them are true heroes. Lasty, thank wife, Mindy & daiughter, Bella.

Mom’s Story – Unicorns & Rainbows

No one would ever accuse Pauline (mom) of being a Unicorns & Rainbows kinda gal, or someone who sees the cup as half full. Frankly, her knack for seeing the half empty side of things became somewhat of a family meme. Yet despite her pessimistic outlook, mom was a loving mother, a mother that cared for her sons come hell or high water.

I was lucky enough to spend several days with mom over the last few months, and a handful of those before she fell sick when I would head to her new Columbus home in the Eastmoor neighborhood. It was during those visits that I asked mom a lot of questions and documented many of the big rocks in her life story. It was through these visits/interviews that I developed a deeper understanding of who she really was, and perhaps more importantly, why she was who she was.

Pauline (mom) was born to George & Ruth Merrick in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, December 12, 1937. They lived on the west side’s Highland Ave for the first 8 or 9 years of her life. She was a self-described daddy’s girl, and often shared that he was her entire world. She absolutely adored him. But tragically, mom lost her daddy in WW2 when she was just 7.5 years old.

Her recount went something like this:

A knock at the front door caused me to run quickly for a peak at who was there. It was two large, imposing service men. I promptly called for my momma (my grandma) and then quietly dipped behind her legs hiding as grandma slowly opened the door. The news wasn’t good. My daddy was one of 87 seamen lost in what’s now documented as the last major sea battle (operation Ten-Go) of WW2 in Okinawa.  His ship, the USS Bush, sunk after three concurrent kamikaze strikes on April 6, 1945.

That day changed the trajectory of her life for good. It was, and then remained, the saddest day of her life. In fact, when I asked her to share more of her earliest memories from childhood, that’s the only one she could recall.

Sadly, from my perspective, the premature loss of her daddy left her insecure and with low self-esteem for the rest of her days. After her father’s passing life of course moved forward with my grandma ultimately remarrying and even giving mom a little sister, my aunt Linda. She, by the way, was a real piece of work! From that point forward, the familial men in her life could never measure up to her daddy’s love.

During her HS years, mom met dad at Gray Drugs in Central Point where they both held part-time jobs. Their relationship flourished eventually leading to dad asking mom to spend the rest of her life with him. It’s not lost on me that his proposal took place at Grigg’s reservoir, which would later become the center of our world for many happy years as a young family, picnicking, boating and celebrating family birthdays.

Mom & Dad married in 1955, and a few years later (7 to be exact), we were a family of 6, mom, dad, and four boys, all born between 1958-1962. Sadly, after 16 years or so the family dynamic crumbled, and our parents eventually divorced. But not before many, many happy memories were formed.

As the 2^nd of the four boys, I loved our happy, fun-filled, "Beaver Cleaver" life. In my mind we had everything and wanted for nothing. Hell, I thought we were rich! This perspective was supported by lots and lots of super fun times, a loving extended family, and lots of friends.

When I reflect back on these happy memories, mom was central to all of them.

Sharing youthful found memories:

·        Happy Times - Dancing to the Mary Poppins album in the livingroom of Westmoor Place.

 

·        Family dining out/in – KFC, BBF, Georges Coney’s and Maria’s Pizza – Sunday Steak dinners to Englebert and Tom J.

 

·        Church boys - We were Glenwood church boys. Sang in the children’s choir, participated in the Easter bell choir, and even attended summer bible school. It was really fun!

 

·        Lompoc via Amtrak - Not one, but two cross country trips via an Amtrak luxury train (El Capitan’) to Lompoc CA to visit our aunt & uncle. Those trips also included visits to Disneyland.

 

·        The most fashionable clothes.  She never said no to our desire to wear the most fashionable clothes. We took many fun-filled COTA bus trips to downtown Lazarus where I recall picking out my first pair of bell-bottoms, bell-sleeved shirts and love beads. Because of mom’s generosity, we were hands down the trendiest boys at John Burroughs Elem.!

 

·        Uncle Chuck in Vegas - And I’ll never forget our surprise trip to once again visit Uncle Chuck, only this time in Las Vegas (thinking 1973). That’s right, four boys, my mom and grandma piled into her Plymouth Duster and drove from Columbus to Vegas. Do you think Uncle Chuck was surprised when all six of us showed up? 😊

 

·        Family Camping - Sprinkled between all of this were numerous family camping and boating trips to Lake White, days at Kings Island, Cedar Point, the zoo, and trips to the Ohio State Fair where we saw the likes of Sonny & Cher, Bob Hope, 5th Dimension, Osmond Brothers, Smothers brothers and many, many more.  (by the way, one of my favorite memories was watching Dave Merrifield, the guy who would hang by his heels from a helicopter trapeze).😊

 

·        Drive-in Movies - summer evenings mom would load all of us into the family car and take us to the drive-in movies. There we not only saw all the family classics, but also a handful of movies we probably shouldn’t have, like Planet of the Apes, The Godfather, as well as a few torture movies.

 

·        Backyard camp outs - mom was so supportive of our bizarre idea to camp out in the back yard pretty much every night of the summer. She’d happily take us to the Great Western grocery store to stock up on the camping essentials, hot dogs, marshmallows, and soda pop.

 

Sharing Found mom memories from adult life

·        Camping with mom at Deer Creek – Later in life, once I’d built my own small family, I would frequently load up my three girls and all of our camping gear and meet mom at Deer Creek State Park campground for a weekend of fun.

·        Car problems, no trouble - And then there were the few times I got into minor trouble with the law relative to my car. Mom was always there to offer help and support, be it emotional or financial. Believe me, I wouldn’t dare ask dad. 😊

 

·        College – When as a young parent with a blossoming career, I decided that I wanted to go to college, once again, my mom was right there willing to help with an open wallet and emotional support so I could fulfill my dream.

Thanks mom. I love you and will always cherish these memories!

Pauline Ann Merrick (Mom) December 12, 1937 - July 11, 2023

 

Space Between

Last post I shared the end of my running streak. Now 3.5 years later I am happy to report that I have a new – maybe even healthier- exercise regimen. For roughly two years post running streak, I alternated, albeit haphazardly, between bicycling and running. Then about a year ago I decided to add walking days. Now the regimen looks something like this. Beginning on a Sunday it’s bike, run, walk, and repeat. I usually take Saturday’s off for rest/recovery. Although many Saturday’s I head off on a hike or another activity away from home.

Around the same time that my running streak ended, I modified my pre-run regimen, too. And while I still meditate most mornings, I’ve eliminated daily push-ups, sit-ups, and dumbbells and replaced them with a yoga/stretch regimen. Happy to report that my body has never felt better, and certainly much more flexible. One of the ill effects of running every day for almost 20 years, my hamstrings became dangerously tight, like banjo strings. I pulled a hamstring several times along the way. It took almost two years for them to loosen up some, but they’ll never be as spry as they were 10+ years ago.

And since it’s been a few years, I want to give a special call out to my newest grandchild, Nixon. Nixon came into the world Oct 25, 2017. He’s an amazing little boy and we love him to pieces. Hard to believe that he’s 2.5 yrs. old already.

It’s early May and we’re deep into the throws of COVID-19. Most of us are in some form of a lock-down. Fun-fun! And as a result, I now share my work from home space with Mindy and the kids. We are all home working and schooling. Outside of my bike, run, walk, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve left the house. I’ve driven my car maybe 30 miles dating back to the 2^nd week of March.

Making it a bit more painful has been the chilly, wet, gray weather we’ve had to slog through since mid-March. We’ve had maybe 10 really nice days out of the last 50. At one point I became so discouraged with the weather that I went on a fact-finding mission charting the April weather for the last 5 years. Facts are, that most April’s are a mixed bag of crappy weather with some nice days sprinkled in. This April’s pattern looks eerily similar to April 2018, but with only 4 days over 70 degrees, none reach 80 degrees, and a whole bunch in the low to mid 50s. And most of those included rain and a stiff, chilly breeze.

On a positive note, we’re well ahead of schedule on spring/summer yard prep. But even that has taken a bit of a hit due to the recent rash of extremely wet, chilly weather. After all, I can’t move dirt and mulch freely about the yard for fear of creating ruts in the overly saturated lawn.

Probably not much different than most folks, I have watched more TV in the last 50 days that I have over the last 20 years. And Mindy & I have watched 5 or 6 movies together over that same span, probably equal to the number of movies we’ve watched together in our entire relationship. Add to that my insatiable appetite for everything Corona virus, I have watched CNN & Fox News ad nauseum. Lots of spin on both networks, albeit 180 degrees apart.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

-    Rumi