Museum Day

 
    Well, for the most part, I seem to have my workspace, computer and my blog back. A special thanks to Luna for filling in the other day as her post apparently was well received. I guess she’ll need to make guest appearances.

Okay, on to the topic of the day. Museums.

If you’re looking for something to do this Saturday, Sept. 28 (besides college football), go visit a local museum.

Museum Day Live! is an annual event sponsored by by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day
Ticket. Rules allow only one ticket per household for two people. If your interest lies in history or the arts, you’re sure to find a participating museum near you. I plan to visit the Tampa History Center in the downtown area.

Details about the day along with a searchable list of participating museums and the ticket, which you print and present at the museum, are available at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday.

Have fun, and if you go, drop a comment. I’d like to hear what other people thought or experienced.

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The Mighty Hunters

Hi, this is Luna, the leader of the Mighty Hunters. Daddy hasn’t blogged in a few days because we have taken over his workspace. You see, chasing lizards is way more important than letting him write, so other than allowing him a few brief moments to check e-mail and Facebook (whatever those things are that he thinks are so important), the desk is ours.

Here we are.

That’s me on the right, with Dewey in the middle and Trey on the left. Missing is Uno, although she might have taken the high ground on the shelving unit next to the desk. Dewey (almost perfect), Trey (under baked) and Uno (over baked) are my kittens. They’re almost a year and a half old and came as a surprise to Daddy and Mommy when they rescued me from outside. Uno always has my back when it comes to Grimm, who’s six months older than my kittens and ensures that he won’t steal my crown.

Besides chasing lizards (and our job would be so much easier if there wasn’t this clear thing between us and our prey), I like to help Daddy cross stitch (whatever that is, but he seems to enjoy it). The nice thing is, he’ll sit in his chair, which means I can curl up in his lap and take another hard-earned nap (hey, you try keeping these kittens in line all day long). Daddy just sits there poking this thing he calls a needle through something that I like to lay on. To his credit, he doesn’t make me move when he can’t poke the needle any longer. He just waits for me to finish my nap.

He’s a good Daddy and I’m glad he took me in from outside.

Oh, he said I had to mention turtles, so turtles, whatever that is. Stay tuned, we’ll let him return eventually.

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Iconic images from Ohio

It's been almost a week since I returned home from Ohio. I've got lots to write about, but I thought I'd start off by sharing just a few photos of some of the iconic images from the area where I grew up.

 Wanna work here? This is the office complex for the Longaberger Basket Company in Newark, Ohio. The firm makes designer baskets that are sold as collector's items.

 Don't jump! This is the cliff at Black Hand Gorge near Toboso. Roamed around here a lot during my teen years. The formation at the bottom is part of lock system for the canal that was part of the Licking River.

 Maybe not. The Great Circle Mound in Newark is part of the Newark Earthworks erected by the ancient Moundbuilders. As a child, we wandered all over this place never aware of the significance of the site.

 Eerie! Another Black Hand Gorge shot. I wasn't able to get a shot of the tunnel for the interurban railroad, but when the B&O Railroad was built, they blasted through the sandstone to create this cut through. The former railroad bed is now a bike/walking trail.

 We can spell. I couldn't quite get it from the observation tower, but these shrubs do spell out Dawes Arboretum.

 Hard as a chisel. I found this outcropping of flint along one of the trails at Flint Ridge Park. This was a site where Indian tribes gathered to secure flint for their weapons and tools.

Impressive! A map showing the extent of the Newark Earthworks, the largest system of its kind in the world.

 Sacred. One of the mounds at the Newark Earthworks.

 We're still in Newark, aren't we? After the 1959 flood, the town erected this totem pole in 1962 to ward off future floods.

Who wants dessert? Tom's Ice Cream Bowl in Zanesville has been around since 1948 serving up nuts, candy and of course, ice cream.

Remember this? Ah, pre-cell phone technology. I found this phone booth next to the Toboso United Methodist Church. Yes, it works.

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Coming Home, Part 2

    Well, my visit to Ohio is now drawing to an end as I fly back to Florida on Sept. 10. Before my departure, I took some time out from visiting with family and friends, to drive around the area where I grew up.

First of all, relying on 35-45 year memories of roads was a bit too much to ask. I went out to Flint Ridge State Park (the place where Indian tribes gathered flint for the weapons and utensils) and when I left there to head to Toboso, I got lost. Well, not completely, but I finally realized I was heading in the wrong direction. So I backtracked, found another road I thought I knew, and when I finally spotted the church where my first wife and I were married, I knew exactly where I was.

I already knew Toboso, the small town where I grew up, had changed immensely. The elementary school is still there, but is now privately owned. Both the house where I grew up and my grandparents’ house have changed. The hill behind the house where we went sled riding is all overgrown into a forest. I stopped and chatted with my aunt, whom I’ve not seen in ages and saw a couple of other people I knew from my youth that I had also not seen in years. Also overgrown was the Christmas tree farm where I worked during the summer of my high school years.

The old high school looks somewhat the same although additions have been made. It now serves as the elementary school for the entire district. A new high school was built down the hill from the old high school. I think it occupies the practice field we used during football season for band practice.

Change is always inevitable as we all know, yet it still comes as a shock when old memories of what used to be confront the reality of the present. And with that, here’s some photos from my visit.

 The house where I grew up. The area where the front door and window are now was our front porch when I lived there.

 My grandparents' house across the street from my former house. Spent a lot of time here growing up. There was a hedge along the front and side where the gravel is now, and an opening between the main house and the little building to the left. My grandma called that her summer cottage.

 The church where we worshiped on Sundays. The wheelchair ramp in front is a change from my youth. Our minister was the grandfather of my best friend in college.

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