They Chose To Serve

Our community has always had an active American Legion Post, and every year they organize a parade and ceremony to remember those who have died in service to our country. It's not a long parade, and there are no floats or funny cars or politicians smiling and waving. It's a short parade consisting of the American Legion members, the Ladies Auxiliary, the American Legion Band, a number of local Scout troops and the Fire Department bringing up the rear. They march down our main street from the American Legion Hall to our Commons at the center of the village by the World War II Memorial.

I love hearing the Sousa marches and the Star-Spangled Banner, and always appreciate the short commentary that's given by Mr. Kerin (he was my high school World History teacher many years ago). I never knew it at the time, but he served in the South Pacific during World War II. I don't recall that he ever mentioned it to our class. I think it's important that we honor our servicemen with holidays like this, and I hope the coming generations continue to place importance on these rememberances. We must never ever forget that so many men and women have died so that we can enjoy the rights and privileges and freedoms that may be taken for granted. There was a good crowd today, from the very young to the very old, lots of red-white-and-blue worn by folks who feel extra-patriotic on a day like today.

The band was a little rusty in spots but played with great spirit. Since I used to be in marching band I appreciate what it takes to stand in the blazing sun, playing in spite of the heat, trying to remember music that's supposed to be memorized!

May God continue to bless America and protect all those who choose to serve.

Field Trip

About a month ago, on one of those gloomy weekends I mentioned, Chris and I took a Sunday drive up north to Loudonville, Ohio. We were in search of a furniture store that we'd read about that carries handmade Amish furniture. So off we went, not knowing what to expect but in the end, very impressed with what we found. Loudonville is a very typical small town, not near any major cities and surrounded by rolling hills and farmland. The best part of the trip was after we exited I-71 and hit the back roads.

We spent a lot of time browsing through the store, upstairs and down in an old rambling building that reminded me of many of the antique stores we've visited. The sales staff left us alone until we needed help (it's always nice not to be dogged by an overly zealous sales person) and we finally decided on a roomy dresser. They call it a Mule Chest, which I tried to research - where does that term come from? Couldn't find an answer. It will be custom made for us since they don't keep anything in stock. They take an order from a customer, notify the particular craftsman that makes that piece to begin work to our specs (I requested a different stain on the trim) and call when ready to be picked up, anywhere from 8 -12 weeks depending on which pieces of furniture have been ordered. So somewhere in central Ohio, an Amish woodworker is making our new mule chest! We should be able to pick it up at the end of June.

The style is simple, sort of Arts and Crafts style. We've just bought the bottom half, not the top part. Both pieces together are enormous - much more than we needed, especially since our bedroom is small. The knobs and the trim around the top edge were stained (painted?) black on the dispaly piece and I've asked that it all be natual medium oak. This will be by far the nicest furniture that we've ever bought and it should last a lifetime. Beautiful! And made in the USA!

Memorial Day Weekend, Part 1

Where in the world has the month of May gone? I haven't had much free time to blog because of a long list of events and happenings that have kept us really busy: Mother's Day, birthdays, gardens that need tending, end-of-school year Awards Banquet, helping our friends move to a new house, Chris working a lot of overtime, Matt moving out of the house into his new place ... and on and on. I keep thinking that things will settle down. Exactly when that will be, no one knows. Kelly's last day of school was Thursday, so she's gladly settling into a summer schedule that includes lots of sleeping in, a busy social life and working at Riley's. Ah, to be 16 and carefree again!

We haven't taken the dogs to the park much during May because we've been busy, and we had a bad stretch of about 10 days of chilly rain and gloom. But we did get to have an outing about 3 weeks ago on a glorious spring afternoon. Our favorite path has become lush and green as leaves bud, and the wildflowers are peeking out along the trail.

We've promised the dogs that we will absolutely get them to the park this long weekend - it's been far too long between outings. We need the exercise as much as they do, so it must happen!

Nolan vs. Great-Grandma Dody

We recently had the chance to visit with my nephew Jason and his wife, and their baby Nolan. Nolan was the first in his generation for our family - he made me a Great-Aunt, he made my sister a Grandmother (HA!) and my mother became a Great-Grandmother. Amazing what a little baby boy can do to a family tree! He's an active 6 month old, very much a squirming bundle of energy. Here's what happens when a loving Great-Grandmother attempts to hold such a busy child ...

After about 5 minutes of Nolan's non-stop twisting, turning and grabbing, Mom was ready to cheerfully declare him the winner. She handed him back over to his younger, stronger parents graciously murmuring comments about how big and healthy he is. I guess God knows what he's doing in allowing the (mostly) under 40's crowd to have babies - I don't know where I ever got the patience and energy to care for my two children ... those days are gone - no more energy, and the "patience" is running low.

Prom

Kelly had a looooong Friday evening last week, going out to dinner, the dance at The Madison and then the after-prom activities at Sports Plus. She dragged herself in the front door at 5 a.m. very tired, very ready for bed. She slept all day on Saturday until she had to get up for work at 4 o'clock. And was she ever grouchy .... so this wise mom steered clear of her the rest of the day. It took a lot of self-control because I wanted to ask all kinds of questions, but I waited!





Don't ask me about the red tux. I don't get it. I don't understand why the red and black theme when the school colors are brown and gold. Evidently a couple of the guys got together and decided to go with red tuxes ... and yes, that is a red baseball cap he was wearing. And he was proud of it!

Happy Birthday, Tango!

Today is Tango's 3rd birthday, so we're told anyway. She was born on May 5th, and we adopted her the first week of July three years ago. We debated for several days about what to name her; I was voting for either Cinco (since she was born on Cinco de Mayo) or Trixie (a third "T" name because the other dogs are Tandie and Tyson). I was obviously overruled and after a highly scientific search through Webster's dictionary, we came upon "Tango" and knew that it fit her perfectly. Tango is the only dog that I've ever helped to raise from puppyhood to adulthood, so I've got to admit that she's the one I've really bonded with, and (yes) she's my favorite. Three years later, she's an active and beautiful dog and we can't picture life without her (well, sometimes we can...).

She's a scary looking dog to those who don't know her, but in reality she has a gentle and submissive nature. And if you've read any of my previous entries over the past few months, you also know that this dog LIVES to play fetch with a tennis ball. She will do ANYTHING to play ball. She's getting really good at leaping and catching the ball on the fly - good eye!

What a dog. I'm so glad we've got her in our family!

Governor Bebb Park

On one of our recent rides into Butler County we visited Governor Bebb Park, a small area tucked away in the farmland, way off the beaten path. It's one of those places that you have to know about in order to find it ... and we thought we knew where it was but got a little lost, took the long way around and finally found the entrance. It took so long to locate it that the sun was dropping low in the sky and we witnessed an incredible sunset as we drove into the park. It was one of those sunsets that changed second by second, and continued to grow brighter and more incredible - until the sun suddenly dropped low behind the trees, and it was over. WOW. It reminded me of a volcanic eruption. Our first glimpse of it was beyond a hill, off in the distance. I thought something had exploded, or caught fire. Then the show began - spectacular color spilling out from behind enormous clouds. Check it out:

And the Grand Finale ....