The world around and beyond the deck is damp from the seemingly healthy amount of rain that moved through at some point through the night. A nice breeze moves through the wisteria-clad deck and the sky is a dull grey which will be a continuous playoff with clear skies during the day.

Tomorrow evening, I will spend with Debbie and Jim McCutcheon at Centerville High School Stadium to watch the drum and bugle corps competition, Soaring Sounds. I first attended Soaring Sounds in 1984 with some college marching band friends never imagining the area would be home within six years.

From a distance, I am mourning along with my community as they come to terms with the murder of one of our police officers who was shot during a traffic stop early Sunday morning. the young reporter for our hometown newspaper, The Elwood Call-Leader, is struggling with the weight of grief he is encountering widespread throughout the community. The reporter’s words reached through the distance and grabbed my heart.

At 12:45 PM, I will join Mama Kay and the other Post-Mass Dancers for Taco Tuesday lunch and then return home to teach until quite late. Then, it’s on to several days of plenty of research time with some attention to the yard added in. I have made so much headway with research with Charles Kettering, Edward Deeds, NCR, DELCO, and other personalities and events from the early 19th Century. Ironically, my other project’s timeline commences in August 1904.

It’s moving on 8:15 AM. I have completed my morning Zoom chat with two favorite sons in London, fed the pooches, had a second cup of coffee, eaten my raisin bran cereal, and now it is time to move on with my day, reminding each of us to make it a great day!

PHOTOS: Erma, though playing “tough girl” with not looking at first, finally gave in. And, of course, she came over for a regular visit.