FLASHBACK OF THE WEEK: Spring 1988

Twenty years ago this Spring I was attending the University of Cincinnati and being a suburban boy I was shocked by the counter-culture I found there. Mohawks; piercings of all kinds in all places; clothes that nobody would ever think of putting on. It was eye-opening but the more I settled in the more I realized the culture was quite harmless to outsiders. These were mostly individuals crying out for help and attention. It actually became sad as my 5-year tenure at UC went on. Nonetheless, I found an awesome record store there off-campus called Wizard's and it had something I had never seen in the malls...bootlegs! I went nuts buying Beatles boots. Vinyl LPs at first and then CDs. I was in hog-heaven. Problem is, they were so danged expensive. Anyway, I would take Melinda and Amy down in my Dodge Dart Swinger to peruse through the records in this creepy, dark, store in the basement of an old building. Mel would just look but Amy was sure to come out with a Led Zeppelin bootleg. It was a fun time - transitioning from high school to the real world. We were only just beginning to understand how little we really knew about life and where we were headed. Scary but fun because we were in it together.

T-ball

Katie Grace has been playing t-ball. It's her first venture into "organized" sports. She does ok at bat but in the field she gets a bit bored and sometimes forget what she's there to do. Fun to watch nonetheless. Like watching someone try to organize a game of ball with cats...

John wins a guitar!

John got to go to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio with his friend (and baseball teammate) Ian and his family. They were kind enough to take him along as a guest Friday, Saturday (today), Sunday, and will be back on Monday! John is an amusement park monster! He wore me out at Kings Island last year and this park he's at now is much bigger. Then today we get a call from him at the park because he had to tell us that he just won an electric guitar at one of those ring-toss games! That nut. It's a beautiful guitar too! Ian's dad took a couple of photos and e-mailed them to us. I think John and Ian are having just a little bit of fun, don't you? We miss him and can't wait to see him again on Monday. He's sure to have a ton of stories for us.

FLASHBACK OF THE WEEK: May 1987

It was late May, 1987. Our final few weeks in high school and we were receiving awards during the annual Academic Awards Ceremony. In the photo you can see me near the left in the light red shirt & black tie. Three people to the right of me is Trish in blue-green and then 2 past her is Melinda in light pink. Funny how we really had no idea what we were in store for. We have been out of high school for 21 years now. That photo was literally taken at our half-way point to where we are now. Time flies.

Ride Your Bike To Work Week

Well, it's Ride Your Bike To Work Week and that's just what a few of us at work are doing. The 3 of us in the Planning Services Division decided to practice what we preach. I have the easiest commute. I only have 1 mile to cover and I do it in a mere 4 minutes. Matt (in the middle) has to come all the way from Anderson Twp. in Ohio but he is able to take a bus to the Airport and then bike from there (9 miles). Dave, on the right, has the most treacherous path as he has to navigate some pretty busy roads during rush hour but he did it ok. Hopefully an article will appear in the paper later this week about our biking since gas is so expensive. Very timely.

Indigo Bunting

Melinda saw this beautiful bird on the deck a few days ago and raced to get the camera; snapping a photo through the rainy window just before it flew off. Isn't it a beauty! It's an Indigo Bunting. Apparently they live in mostly rural areas but this one has strayed into suburbia for a snack on our feeders on a few occasions this Spring.

Hawk Nelson concert

I took John to his first rock concert a few days ago. We saw Hawk Nelson, an alternative Christian rock band that has several CDs out. We had a great time...mostly because we had ear plugs with us! I don't know how the kids do it without ear protection!!! I ran into a cousin of mine who I hadn't seen in probably 20 years (Steve) who was taking his daughter and her friend to the show. We had a great time catching up a bit and we are going to try to hook up sometime to play guitar together.
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Reds vs. Cubs on Kevin's birthday

Kevin, my friend from high school and playing baseball, took me to a Reds game on Wednesday. He got tickets for his birthday and boy were they good ones! 5 rows behind the Reds dugout! The game was a homer-laden blowout of the Cubs. The Reds blasted 7 long-balls during the 9-0 beatdown. Joey Votto clubbed 3 homers himself. Edison Volquez threw lights-out on the mound. The weather was great until the 4th inning when rains came. No worries; Kevin had passes to the enclosed restaurant. Despite the fact that we really couldn't see the field too well, it wasn't a total wash. We got to eat a free pizza intended for Cubs fans! A great day to be down at the old ball yard. Thanx Kevin and Happy Birthday!

Bandits 2008

Well the Bandits have started the season with 12 straight wins! Keep the hot bats and arms up and who knows what will happen? A big win yesterday against a team that thumped them last year. John has done very well out of the bullpen with an ERA in the 3 range and his .450 batting average leads the team. He's batting cleanup and plays in the outfield when he's not on the mound. Here are his 2008 baseball cards from the "official" Bandits set I finished this past weekend.