The Haasienda on Shroyer...

Erma Bombeck…

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

Erma Bombeck has been one of my favorite authors, and humorists since I was in the fourth grade.

Here are some quotes and videos….

A friend doesn’t go on a diet because you are fat.

A friend never defends a husband who gets his wife an electric skillet for her birthday.

A friend will tell you she saw your old boyfriend – and he’s a priest.

All of us have moments in out lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them.

Anybody who watches three games of football in a row should be declared brain dead.

Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they’re not trying to keep up with you.

Being a child at home alone in the summer is a high-risk occupation. If you call your mother at work thirteen times an hour, she can hurt you.

Car designers are just going to have to come up with an automobile that outlasts the payments.

Children make your life important.

Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?

Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, “A house guest,” you’re wrong because I have just described my kids.

Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.

Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.

For some of us, watching a miniseries that lasts longer than most marriages is not easy.

For years my wedding ring has done its job. It has led me not into temptation. It has reminded my husband numerous times at parties that it’s time to go home. It has been a source of relief to a dinner companion. It has been a status symbol in the maternity ward.

Getting out of the hospital is a lot like resigning from a book club. You’re not out of it until the computer says you’re out of it.

God created man, but I could do better.

Guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.

House guests should be regarded as perishables: Leave them out too long and they go bad.

Housework, if you do it right, will kill you.

How come anything you buy will go on sale next week?

Humorists can never start to take themselves seriously. It’s literary suicide.

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.

I have a hat. It is graceful and feminine and give me a certain dignity, as if I were attending a state funeral or something. Someday I may get up enough courage to wear it, instead of carrying it.

I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up.

I haven’t trusted polls since I read that 62% of women had affairs during their lunch hour. I’ve never met a woman in my life who would give up lunch for sex.

I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.

I take a very practical view of raising children. I put a sign in each of their rooms: “Checkout Time is 18 years.”

I was terrible at straight items. When I wrote obituaries, my mother said the only thing I ever got them to do was die in alphabetical order.

I was too old for a paper route, too young for Social Security and too tired for an affair.

I will buy any creme, cosmetic, or elixir from a woman with a European accent.

I’ve exercised with women so thin that buzzards followed them to their cars.

If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.

If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.

In general my children refuse to eat anything that hasn’t danced in television.

In two decades I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.

It goes without saying that you should never have more children than you have car windows.

It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.

It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.

Like religion, politics, and family planning, cereal is not a topic to be brought up in public. It’s too controversial.

Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.

Most women put off entertaining until the kids are grown.

My kids always perceived the bathroom as a place where you wait it out until all the groceries are unloaded from the car.

My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.

My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?

Never accept a drink from a urologist.

Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.

Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated.

Never have more children than you have car windows.

Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.

Never order food in excess of your body weight.

No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there is wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.

On vacations: We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.

Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.

One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child’s name and how old he or she is.

Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.

People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you’ll feel comfortable wearing.

Allow for room to grow.

Some say our national pastime is baseball. Not me. It’s gossip.

Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.

Sometimes I can’t figure designers out. It’s as if they flunked human anatomy.

Somewhere it is written that parents who are critical of other people’s children and publicly admit they can do better are asking for it.

Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores that went out of business twenty years ago.

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.

The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.

There is nothing more miserable in the world than to arrive in paradise and look like your passport photo.

There is one thing I have never taught my body how to do and that is to figure out at 6 A.M. what it wants to eat at 6 P.M.

There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

There’s something wrong with a mother who washes out a measuring cup with soap and water after she’s only measured water in it.

What’s with you men? Would hair stop growing on your chest if you asked directions somewhere?

When a child is locked in the bathroom with water running and he says he’s doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911.

When humor goes, there goes civilization.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me”.

When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.

Who in their infinite wisdom decreed that Little League uniforms be white? Certainly not a mother.

Why would anyone steal a shopping cart? It’s like stealing a two-year-old.

Youngsters of the age of two and three are endowed with extraordinary strength. They can lift a dog twice their own weight and dump him into the bathtub.

PBS Documentary – Erma Bombeck: A Legacy of Laughter…

ERMA BOMBECK: A Legacy of Laughter

Erma Bombeck quotation video…

Posted in Blogroll, Erma Bombeck, Humor, Inspiration | Leave a comment

From The First Lady…

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

A Mother’s Day message from First Lady Michelle Obama… (from WhiteHouse.Gov)

Dear Friend,

There’s no way I could ever measure all that my own mother has done for me. She is my rock. She pushes me to be the best professional, mother, wife and friend I can be.

As a mother myself, I’ve come to realize that being a mom isn’t always easy and that no one can do it alone.

My husband understands the many challenges facing today’s mothers and their families. His Administration has taken steps to level the playing field and ease the burden.

The first bill the President signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to ensure that no women face the same discrimination and injustices that Lilly did after 20 years on the job. When women make less money than men for the same work, families have to work harder just to get by.

The President signed an Executive Order creating the first-ever White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that all Federal agencies take women and girls into account in their daily work and to ensure that our daughters have the same opportunities as our sons.

Through the Let’s Move! Initiative and the President’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity, we’re helping to provide parents with the knowledge and tools they need to make healthy choices for their children and teach their children to make healthy choices for themselves.

This week, we are celebrating Women’s Health Week to promote steps women and girls can take to lead longer, healthier and happier lives.

Mother’s Day is about showing our gratitude for the mothers and mother figures who have influenced our lives. The President and I would like to extend our warmest Mother’s Day wishes to all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and friends who have inspired a child.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Michelle Obama

Posted in Barak Obama, Blogroll, Eleanor Roosevelt, First Ladies, U.S. History, U.S. Presidents, White House | Leave a comment

All in a day…

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

I woke this morning, for the first time in several weeks, with renewed energy, and not the first bit of sluggishness. Despite the grey clouds that shrouded the Miami Valley this morning, I was determined to have an enjoyable day, filled with writing, reading, walking and spending time with Jose.

Around 9:30am, after accomplishing a good deal, I received an email from Facbook requesting to verify a change of password. I had not changed my password!

From a previous experience last October, I knew that I was being hacked.

However, this was to quickly become a little more complicated.

As I attempted to change my Facebook password to secure it, I was suddenly logged out of my email account on SBC. I logged back in, and discovered I had no contacts remaining in my contact folder.

Then a call from a Beavercreek friend alerted me to the fact that an email was being distributed from a slightly altered email address, claiming I had been mugged in Scotland! While I was on the telephone with this friend, another friend, currently living in England, called to say she had received an email (and probably wondering why I was not visiting her being so close!).

I was quickly discovering that even having reset my email password four times, someone was still breaking into my email account and sending out bogus messages regarding my financial distress in Scotland. Incoming emails were being moved – right before my eyes – to my “trash” folder. Jose had sent me the URL to my Facebook site, and we both watched as his newly arrived email was deposited into the “trash” file.

I began juggling several items at once, and by 2:30pm had most things wrapped up.

My on-line banking, Sprint, Time-Warner and Facebook had all been hacked. Fortunately, everything except Facebook, is safe. As I was juggling items, the hacker completely changed my email address into Facebook, and now I cannot even make a claim that I have forgotten my password to have it sent to my email – that original email address no longer exists to gain entry into my account.

Major UGH!

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A Spring Week…

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

My dear friend in St. Louis, Jeffrey Carter, is always a few steps ahead of me with technology (and a score of other things that raises my admiration and respect for him), and I figured out how I can write a blog post on my Word Press account and get it to post simultaneously on my Facebook and Twitter sites!

So much easier!

The lilac bush, which offered more than 140 large bouquets given away, was still full. The lovely blooms have finally died off. However, the clematis is blooming around the front yard corner-fence.

I am hoping to paint the front yard corner-gate, wagon wheel, bench, and mailbox. We have some nasty weather approaching, so this paint session will have to wait.

This has been a particularly long week. Not a bad week, mind you, but one that just felt terribly long – one that dragged.

The doctor suggested I split my medication in half as I have been battling extreme fatigue. Hopefully the half dose will help me maintain the usual amount of energy that carries my full day.

I have done little this week that amounts to what I would call a successful week, but I do feel rested. I have walked nearly two miles each day, and am hopefully with renewed energy, I can at least accomplish 10,000+ steps each day, or 5 miles. My waist does seem to be reducing, and I am wearing shorts I have not worn in several years… progress. The medication does seem to reduce my appetite which is a blessing. My meal portions are much smaller, yet I do feel full!

Tonight, after teaching private lessons I will teach a pre-adoptive course at ACTION Adoption.

Saturday I will hopefully accomplish some work, and attend one of the two productions of [title of show], produced by some students at Wright State University. If the weather permits, I would like to hit Old River Park’s canoes with Jose.

May 8th would have been my grandmother’s 86th birthday, and each Mother’s Day I always remember her fondly by playing, “Red River Valley,” one of her personal favorites.

I have no idea what Sunday holds beyond a Mother’s Day call to Mother.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and please don’t forget to wish all the mothers you know a “happy Mother’s Day.”

Posted in Blogroll, Entertainment, Family Life, Friends, Music - Band, Musical Theatre, NACAC, The Haasienda | Leave a comment

…The Rage Is Not About Healthcare…

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Barak Obama, Politics, Politics - 2008 Election, U.S. History, U.S. Presidents, White House | Leave a comment

…An Absence of Class…

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

#mce_temp_url#

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Christianity, Politics, Politics - 2008 Election, Religion, U.S. History, White House | Leave a comment

…Vote For The WRIGHT BROTHERS…

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

Vote for the Wright Brothers to represent the State of Ohio at the United States Capitol! From March 20 through June 12, 2010, Ohioans can cast their vote on who should be honored in Statuary Hall in the Capitol building in Washington, DC.

Eleven notable Ohioans are in the running to become the subject of a new statue in Statuary Hall; the Wright Brothers count as one and would be honored together.

Beginning on March 20, you can download an official ballot at http://www.legacyforohio.org, or beginning March 22, you can pick up a ballot at any Dayton History location.

There is no age limit for voting, so the whole family can participate!

However, only one vote is allowed per person, and each person must complete an official ballot.

Ballots may be turned in at the Paul Laurence Dunbar House now through June 12.

Below is some information, taken from the State’s site, on the individuals….

• Grant lived in Ohio from birth until he was 17
• Ashley lived in Ohio all his adult life
• Edison born in Ohio but moved at age 7
• McCulloch lived in Ohio his entire life
• Owens was born in Alabama, lived here through college, and moved on
• Reznik was born in Ohio, moved on at 18
• Sabin moved here at age 38; traveled a good bit and retired in DC
• Stowe lived here for 18 yrs
• Upton lived here her entire life
• Wilbur & Orville Wright: Wilbur born in Indiana and moved to Ohio as a child; Orville born in Dayton; and with the exception of living in Indiana for two years, the brothers remained Ohio residents

Ulysses S. Grant

• Ulysses Simpson Grant was the commanding general of the Union Army at the conclusion of the American Civil War, and the 18th President of the United States.
• Grant was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio.
• In 1823, his family moved to Georgetown, Ohio where his father operated a tannery.
• On March 3, 1839, Grant received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.
• Grant graduated from West Point in 1843. He ranked twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine students.
• first military assignment outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
• sent to Corpus Christy, Texas when tensions increased between the United States and Mexico over land claimed by both nations.
• participated in the Battle of Palo Alto in 1846 and the assault on Molino del Ray in 1847
• Grant was promoted to first lieutenant
• moved to Detroit; moved to Sackett’s Harbor, New York
• grew disenchanted with army life; resigned his commission and returned to Missouri
• unsuccessfully tried his hand at several occupations, including farming and real estate
• working as a clerk in his father’s leather goods store in Galena, Illinois in 1860
• visited the headquarters of George B. McClellan in Cincinnati seeking a staff position, but McClellan would not receive him
• appointed Grant to a colonelcy of the Seventh District Regiment
• U.S. Senate approved an appointment of Grant as a brigadier general of volunteers due to his previous military experience
• received permission to begin a campaign on the Tennessee River – captured Forts Henry and Donelson; first major victories of the war for the Union military
• General Henry Halleck, assumed personal command of Grant’s army, reducing Grant’s leadership position; Grant considered resigning from the army, but his friend, William T. Sherman, persuaded him not to
• promoted to the rank of major general in the regular army and given command of all Union forces in the West
• promoted Grant to the position of lieutenant general and named him commander of all Union forces
• Lee surrendered his army to Grant on April 9, 1865
• Congress appointed him General of the Army
• first term as president was troubled with corruption – numerous political leaders, including the vice president, were accused of trading political favors for monetary compensation.
• Grant remained above the corruption, but many Americans faulted him for poor leadership and his inability to control his cabinet.
• Grant won reelection in 1872
• Sought a third term in 1876 and 1880 but rejected
• Congress reappointed Grant as General of the Army

James M. Ashley

• James Mitchell Ashley was an ardent abolitionist and a prominent political and business leader in Northwest Ohio in the mid-nineteenth century.
• Ashley was born on November 24, 1822, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• When he was four years old, his family moved to Portsmouth, Ohio.
• became the editor of the Portsmouth Dispatch, and later the Portsmouth Democrat.
• admitted to the Ohio bar, but never practiced law.
• moved to Toledo – became active in local politics and helped organize the Republican Party in the Toledo area
• elected Ashley to the United States House of Representatives
• reelected four times until he lost in 1868
• championed abolitionist causes before and during the Civil War
• hard-line Reconstructionist
• first representative to call for an amendment to the United States Constitution that would outlaw slavery
• championed the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
• served as the chairman of the House Committee on Territories
• strongly opposed Mormonism
• successfully campaigned to reduce the size of Utah to limit Mormon influence
• played a leading role in President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment; believed that Johnson was a co-conspirator in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, but he was never able to produce any hard evidence
• appointed Governor of the Montana Territory; unpopular with Montana residents; removed from office after fifteen months
• became involved with railroad construction and helped to establish the Toledo
• ran for the US House of Representatives in 1890 and 1892, but lost both elections

Thomas A. Edison

• Thomas Alva Edison was a world famous inventor and highly successful businessman who designed and manufactured many devices that greatly influenced history.
• Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio.
• At age seven, Edison moved with his family to Port Huron, Michigan.

William M. McCulloch

• William Moore McCulloch was a civil rights activist and member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio in the mid-twentieth century.
• William McCulloch was born near Holmesville, Ohio, in 1901
• elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1932
• House Minority Leader from 1936 – 1939
• Speaker of the House from 1939-1944
• first House member to serve three consecutive terms as Speaker
• special election elected McCulloch to represent them in the United States House of Representatives, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Robert F. Jones
• McCulloch went on to represent western Ohio in the House in twelve succeeding Congresses through 1973
• champion of civil rights
• bipartisan support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was instrumental in the adoption of that legislation
• President Lyndon Johnson publicly recognized McCulloch as “…the most important and powerful force” in the enactment of the bill.

Jesse C. Owens

• Jesse Owens was one of America’s greatest track and field athletes. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.
• James Cleveland Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama.
• When Owens was eight years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio.
• Life in Cleveland did not prove to be as successful as the Owens family had hoped. Owens had to take jobs after school to help his family financially.
• senior year in 1933 set a world broad jump record of 24 feet 11 ¾ inches
• proved to be one of the greatest athletes in the history of The Ohio State University
• tied one world record and set three new ones
• 1936 – competed in the Olympics in Berlin, Germany; won four gold medals and set or helped to set four Olympic records
• left Ohio State amid pressure to cash in on his newfound fame
• was successful as a spokesperson for a variety of companies, charitable groups, and non-profit organizations, including the United States Olympic Committee
• served as a goodwill ambassador for the United States around the globe
• presented Owens with the Medal of Freedom
• posthumously inducted into the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame

Judith A. Resnik

• Judith Resnik was an American astronaut who tragically died in the explosion of the Orbiter Challenger on January 28, 1986.
• Judith Arlene Resnik was born on April 5, 1949, in Akron, Ohio
• received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University
• doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland
• accepted a position with RCA, designing circuits for phased-array radar control systems
• worked for the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology
• briefly worked for the Xerox Corporation
• selected to join the National Aeronautics and Space Association as an astronaut
• helped develop software for NASA’s space shuttle program
• flew into space as a mission specialist on the Discovery’s maiden flight, making her only the second American women in outer space
• killed on January 28, 1986 aboard the Challenger
• posthumously awarded Congressional Space Medal of Honor

Albert B. Sabin

• Albert Bruce Sabin was an American medical researcher who developed an oral vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis.
• Sabin was born on August 26, 1906, in Bialystok, Poland, then a part of Imperial Russia.
• 1921 – immigrated to Patterson, New Jersey
• became a naturalized U.S. citizen
• enrolled at New York University
• conducted research at the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine in England
• 1939 – accepted a research position studying the cause of polio, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
• served as a consultant to the U.S. Army Epidemiological Board’s Virus Committee during WWII
• returned to Cincinnati to continue his research on the polio virus
• determined that the virus lived primarily in the intestines of its victims
• developed a live vaccine; Jonas Salk had produced a “killed” vaccine for polio a few years before Sabin’s discovery
• World Health Organization permitted Sabin to test his vaccine in Chile, Holland, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Sweden
• 1960 – U.S. Public Health Service allowed Sabin to distribute his vaccine to Americans
• last case of polio in the U.S. occurred in 1979
• remained at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital until 1969
• president of the Weizmann Institute of Science
• consultant for the U.S. National Cancer Institute
• Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedicine at the Medical University of South Carolina
• consultant at the Fogarty International Center for Advanced Studies in the Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health
• died of congestive heart failure (1993) at Georgetown University Medical Center

Harriet B. Stowe

• Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author and ardent abolitionist. She is most notable for authoring Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a fictional work that demonized the evils of slavery, and galvanized anti-slavery sentiment in the North prior to the American Civil War.
• born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut
• 1832 – the Beecher family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio
• began her writing career
• first story published in Western Monthly Magazine in 8134
• became friends with John Rankin, whose home in Ripley, Ohio served as a stop on the Underground Railroad; formed the basis of her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• 1850 – moved to Brunswick, Maine; wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• objected to the federal government actively assisting slave owners in their efforts to reclaim their runaway slaves in Northern states; hoped that her readers would rise up against slavery
• book sold more than 500,000 copies during its first five years in print
• 1862 – met President Abraham Lincoln while she was visiting Washington, DC; Lincoln reportedly said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War!”
• moved to Andover, Massachusetts
• established a winter residence in Mandarin, Florida; lived in Oakholm until 1870;

Harriet T. Upton

• Harriet Taylor Upton was a prominent suffragist and the first woman to serve as vice-chairperson of the Republican National Committee.
• Harriet Taylor was born on December 17, 1853, in Ravenna, Ohio
• moved to Warren, Ohio
• father elected as to Congress
• accompanied her widowed father to Washington, D.C.
• immersed herself in the women’s suffrage movement, working closely with her mentor, Susan B. Anthony
• dedicated herself to securing the right for women to vote
• began Ohio Women in Convention
• emerged as a leading women’s rights advocate during the 1890s
• served as president of the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association from 1899 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1920
• first woman elected to the Warren Board of Education
• first woman to serve on the Republican National Executive Committee in 1920
• ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1926
• instrumental in the passage of the first child labor law, founding the Warren chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and founding and serving as the first president of the Warren American Red Cross Chapter
• authored several children books
• also authored several histories, including A History of the Western Reserve; The Early Presidents, Their Wives and Children; and History of Trumbull County

Wilbur & Orville Wright

• Wilbur born in Indiana, moved to Ohio as a child
• Orville born in Dayton, Ohio, and was a LIFE-LONG RESIDENT OF DAYTON, OHIO! (Did live temporarily in Richmond, Indiana)
• Wilbur attended public schools but never graduated from high school or attended college
• Orville attended public schools and graduated from high school, but never attended college
• Wright brothers had an interest in flight that had been sparked by a toy shaped like a helicopter that their father had given them as children
• the two men began experimenting with wing designs for an airplane
• continued to experiment with their airplane designs, first with gliders and eventually with powered flight
• first successful flight of a powered airplane occurred at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903
• attempted to sell their design to the United States military, but the government was still too skeptical about the possibilities of flight
• 1908 & 1909 – Wilbur Wright was gaining international attention for the brothers’ designs by setting aeronautical records in France; also sought newspaper coverage by flying around the Statue of Liberty and then flying along the Hudson River;
• continued to develop new advances in aeronautical design.
• Wilbur died on May 30, 1912
• Orville continued to work on new developments in aircraft design
• 1916 – chose to sell the company that he and his brother had founded so that he could concentrate on aeronautical research and design rather than on manufacturing
• Orville was one of the original members of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
• served on NACA for a total of twenty-eight years
• NACA is known as the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• received the first Daniel Guggenheim Medal for “great achievements in aeronautics”
• elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences

Posted in Abraham Lincoln, First Ladies, Harry Truman, Indiana, Politics, Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. Presidents, White House, Wright Brothers | Leave a comment

…His Baton Is Laid Down…

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Wright Flyer Guy

(Written in September 2002)

Thursday evening I was in the middle of teaching private voice, piano and saxophone lessons when I received Emails from my mother and sister telling me that Mr. Brugger had passed away. Though not terribly surprised by the news, I was still quite sad. As my student continued playing through her lesson, a kaleidoscope of memories began turning.

My first memory of Mr. Brugger was at the T-Way parking lot as a very small child. My grandmother, Donna Barmes, use to ride me on her bicycle a good deal, and one of our favorite jaunts in the summer was to watch the Panter Band practice. The early images must have had a strong impact on me as I later served as the Panther Band Drum-major throughout my high school career. It was during those years in the late 1960’s that I first heard Mr. Brugger sing “Old Man River” at the legendary Elwood High School (then known as Wendell L. Willkie High School) Variety Show. It was powerfully stunning.

In 1975, two phenomenal teachers entered my life – Garnetta and Clifford Brugger. Mrs. Brugger was my fifth grade teacher, and Mr. Brugger, having retired from the high school, came into our music class each week to teach songs and tell stories. He would lead us in several favorite American folk songs, and then stop to tell us a joke or a story, complete with various voices and theatrics. One day, someone asked why we sang “those old songs.” With a reassuring smile, Mr. Brugger explained that in other countries around the world, folk songs were vital to the people’s history because they told stories of the people of their land. He felt, that as United States citizens, we should value our own musical heritage. To this day, American folk songs are a part of my teaching repertoire.

Toward the end of the year, I wrote a note to Mr. Brugger with a special request, and sent it home via his wife. His last day he was with us at Washington Elementary School, he honored my request. I can remember the school secretary, Jan Helpling, slipping in through the coat hall… Diana Lane, the fourth grade teacher (and also one of my favorites), joined her… Mrs. Brugger, holding a cup of coffee slipped in beside them… Mr. Brugger’s voice filled the entire building with the rich strains of “Old Man River.”

Throughout my junior high and senior high years, Mr. Brugger was one of my biggest supporters. Whether attending an Elwood HS Variety Show – his own legacy and gift to our community – or giving me a nod along the parade route, he always made sure I knew how proud he was of my work. The crowning moment came when he saw me after a performance of OKLAHOMA! and compared my performance to that of Gordon MacRae who portrayed “Curly” in the motion picture.

Upon my return visits to my family over the years, I knew that if we went to Jim Dandy for breakfast, I would get to see Mr. Brugger. He never failed to recognize me, and always insisted I tell him everything I was doing with my own music career as a band & choir director, and performer.

My last student this evening came into my studio and announced that he had decided to go to Ball State University next fall to major in music education. Although he is not my first student to go into music, his timing was perfect. As Brian warmed up on his saxophone, I was so appreciative that Clifford Brugger made such an impact on me twenty-eight years ago. I was even more grateful that he also had an impact on his own band student, Paula Simmons, who was my junior high and high school band and choir director.

When my student left, I sent my two sons, Joshua and Matthew, outside to walk our dog, Flyer.

I sat down at my piano and began playing and singing. It was a tender moment without great emotion. It was a moment of thanksgiving, and celebration. The lyrics flowed easily…

“Ol’ man river, that ol’ man river,

He mus’ know sumpin’ but don’t say nuthin’

He jes’ keeps rollin’, he keeps on rollin’ along.

He don’t plant taters, he don’t plant cotton

An’ dem dat plants ‘em is soon forgotten,

But ol’ man river, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along.

I git weary an’ sick of tryin’

I’m tired of livin’ an’ skeered of dyin’

But ol’ man river, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along.

Our beloved maestro has laid down his baton at last, yet his music “keeps on rollin’” within our memories, and our hearts. Where ever you are, Mr. Brugger, thank you, and God bless.

[April 2003, Paula Simmons invited me back to Elwood Community High School to perform, “Old Man River,” in honor of Mr. Brugger. This was, and will always be, one of my greatest honors.]

Posted in Fairmont High School, Friends, Music - Band, Music - Marching Band, Music - Show Choir, Musical Theatre, Performing, Playwright, The Haasienda | 3 Comments

Butler's Coleman Hemsath marks his 30th production with Singin' In The Rain

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Originally published: http://www.examiner.com/x-27336-Dayton-High-School-Theater-Examiner~y2009m10d29-Butlers-Coleman-Hemsath-marks-his-30th-production-with-Singin-In-The-Rain

Hemsath - Head shot Eight years. Thirty productions. This averages to 3.75 shows each year. Most of these thirty productions, however, were accomplished within the past five years.

This incredibly busy rehearsal and performance schedule has been maintained by Coleman Hemsath, a Butler High School junior who is a familiar face in Vandalia Youth Theatre and Muse Machine productions.

Some children do not listen to their mothers, but it is a good thing Coleman listened to his.

“My mother was looking for something for me to do over the summer in 2001. She found the Vandalia Youth Theatre and enrolled me in it. I think I fell in love after that. It’s something I couldn’t shake off.”

That first year he played the role of Cockroach in the Vandalia Youth Theatre children’s production, Bugz. Not a very auspicious beginning for the young man who would portray Javert in the 2009 Vandalia Youth Theatre production, Les Miserables. Nonetheless, it was Coleman’s start in theatre. The following year, his stage character vastly improved with the role Big Jules in Guys & Dolls.

Most of Coleman’s roles have allowed him to engage his comedic timing; however, this past summer, he was challenged to spread his dramatic wings as Javert in Les Miserables.

“This character had to be real and deep because of the choices and situations he endures leading to a final decision of suicide. My favorite part of the role was actually committing suicide. This was incredibly hard and for the longest time it was lacking emotion. But one day at rehearsal I remember literally breaking down in tears after singing the song leading up to the suicide. Something clicked. It was definitely the most challenging and yet, most gratifying role I’ve played.”

The seventeen year old thespian credits the cast’s dedication as a reason for the show’s success, and succeeding with his initial trepidation tackling his huge, dramatic role.

Thoroughly Modern Millie was Coleman’s first performance with Dayton’s Muse Machine. Like most first time performers with Muse Machine, he was in awe as he walked on to the dazzling Victoria Theater’s stage. Being in a show with tremendously talented teens he had admired in previous years from the other side of the lights was a moment he will always remember.

“Thoroughly Modern Millie just seemed to have a spark to it.”

This coming January, Coleman will once again join his fellow Muse performers on the Victoria stage in Singin’ In The Rain. Coleman will play the tightly-wound Diction Coach, as well as understudy to Don Lockwood, the character popularized in the 1952 movie by Gene Kelly.

Following his 2011 graduation from Vandalia’s Butler High School, Coleman plans on majoring in musical theatre or vocal performance, and one day hopes to play either Max Bialystock or Leo Bloom in The Producers. If performing is not enough for this jovial thespian, he dreams of someday opening his own theatre company.

Keep your eye on the Miami Valley’s own – Coleman Hemsath!

Posted in Acting, Actors, Broadway, Entertainment, Music - Band, Music - Show Choir, Musical Theatre, Performing, Playwright, School, Theatre, Theatre: College, Theatre: Community, Theatre: High School | Leave a comment

Wayne High School senior Tray Shelton shines in Moon Over Buffalo

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Originally published: http://www.examiner.com/x-27336-Dayton-High-School-Theater-Examiner~y2009m10d28-Wayne-High-School-senior-Tray-Shelton-shines-in-Moon-Over-Buffalo

Shelton 6 “I have been interested in theatre for as long as I can remember. I think the main reason the stage has always been appealing to me is because in a small town like Huber Heights, you don’t have many opportunities to express yourself and I knew that high school theatre would be a sort of creative outlet for me.”

And finding his creative outlet in high school theatre is exactly what Wayne High School senior, Tray Shelton, has done.

Tray first got a taste for the boards during his sophomore year when he stepped into the role of James Keller in Wayne’s production, The Miracle Worker, for which he received a Floorboard Award for “best newcomer.” Since that first appearance he has enjoyed lead roles in Anything Goes, The Importance Of Being Earnest, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).

Being in front of an audience and seeing the reactions to events on stage explains why Wayne’s Thespian Society/Drama Club president is enthusiastic about performing.

“My favorite thing to hear is laughter because it means I’m doing something to make the audience happy and that makes me happy.”

Tray claims that his favorite show is The Miracle Worker, which was his first production. Playing the role of Helen Keller’s older brother introduced him to character development while learning how theatre functions.

The third weekend of November will find Tray in what he believes to be his favorite role, portraying George Hay in Ken Ludwig’s 1995 Broadway hit, Moon Over Buffalo.

“It’s a challenging role because George spends the entire second act intoxicated. I am enjoying working on the differences between ‘drunk George’ and ‘sober George’. It’s almost like playing two characters at once which is a fun and unique experience. I also love the fact that I am an actor playing an actor. It’s fun to play into all of the stereotypes associated with actors.”

When preparing for a role, the Wayne thespian admits that memorizing blocking comes rather naturally. However, line memorization is often difficult due to spending countless hours after school each day.

Still, cramming lines and life into the busy schedule of a high school senior has not dampened his spirits. Tray’s future plans include studying at Wittenberg, or Wright State, pursuing a degree in theatre. One day, he dreams of playing Angel in Rent.

Feeling as though he got a late start in performing, Tray encourages younger students to get involved earlier than high school by seeking performing opportunities in school, church or community venues.

“I waited until my sophomore year to join the drama club and while it has still been a wonderful experience I have always wished it could have lasted just a little bit longer.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to see Tray Shelton and fellow Wayne performers in Moon Over Buffalo, November 19, 20, & 21, 2009 in the Wayne High School Auditorium. Thursday & Friday curtains will rise at 7:00pm, and Saturday’s matinee begins at 2:00pm. Wayne Sporting Goods will begin selling tickets two weeks before the show. Tickets can also be purchased one hour prior to curtain. Admission for preferred seating are $8, and general admission is $5. International Thespian Society members can get tickets half price with a valid membership card (one per card).

Posted in Broadway, Entertainment, Music - Band, Musical Theatre, Playwright, School, Theatre, Theatre: College, Theatre: Community, Theatre: High School | Leave a comment

Fairmont grad Phil Drennen launches new writing career following Altar Boyz tour

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Originally posted: http://www.examiner.com/x-27336-Dayton-High-School-Theater-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Fairmont-grad-Phil-Drennen-launches-new-writing-career-following-Altar-Boyz-tour

Phil This 2002 Fairmont graduate, now a performer living in New York City, was known in the Miami Valley for cow roping, singin’ and dancin’ in the rain, gambling, and dancing in pajamas. Now, having completed a national tour of Altar Boyz, Philip Drennen is settling into a new phase of his youthful career. However, he still credits his theatrical experiences as a high school student in the Miami Valley as the foundation of his success and still new horizons.

“Literally all my best memories from high school, in general, are from doing shows and playing in the band,” said Philip. “All of my best friends from that time, who still are my best friends, I met in a performance group.”

When not playing flute in a Kettering concert band, or serving as the marching band’s field commander, Phil, was on Fairmont’s stage, performing the lead roles in Oklahoma!, Guys & Dolls and Singin’ In The Rain. Away from the Fairmont stage, he was a familiar favorite on the Muse stage in My Fair Lady and The Pajama Game.

His favorite high school role is, perhaps, the most memorable to many as he sang and danced his way through a rain shower in Singin’ In The Rain, a production that packed Fairmont’s auditorium each night.

“Of all the shows I did I’ll always talk about how it rained on stage during Singin’ in the Rain. The audience gave the rain wagon a standing ovation. Legendary!”

While a student at Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music, where he received his BFA (bachelor of fine arts) in musical theatre, Philip performed in William Finn’s Elegies, Crazy For You and Working. From CCM it was on to the professional world of musical theatre where Mr. Drennen glided right into his professional life.

“I have many interesting stories from the last few years. I’m so, so grateful I was encouraged to go into theater. And to be honest, I wasn’t encouraged by everyone. I’ve gotten to see shows in London’s West End, climb the Great Wall of China, and even recently got to perform with Mickey Rooney! All from doing theater.

Aside from performing with 1940’s teen star, Mickey Rooney, Phil landed roles in a world premiere, For The Glory, which debuted in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and starred in the national tour of Altar Boyz.

Soon after arriving in New York, Phil learned that performing on Broadway is a great goal to pursue, but it should not be the only goal guiding young performers. There are natural facets of growth in the performing arena – something that many professionals refer to as, “process.”

“Many people get really down on themselves when they don’t get a huge show right out of school. But some people don’t peak until later. I’d always been told that I was a ‘leading man’ who hadn’t grown into himself and that I’d have to wait until I’m 30 to really break through. Instead of waiting, I’m taking things into my own hands and anyone can.”

And taking a pen and musical score paper into his own hands is exactly what Philip has done.

While on the road touring with Altar Boyz, Phil, and fellow performer, Dan Scott, who played “Mark”, began writing songs to pass the time. As soon as they returned to New York, the former Boyz were immediately at work co-writing songs. Within a few months, they recorded their first EP, One Of These Days.

This November, the newly formed duo, now popularly known as Astoria Boulevard, will throw their first CD-release party at Santos Party House in NYC.

Despite branching out in a slightly different direction in his still young career, Phil believes that he would not have discovered his voice for writing music had it not been for his years involved with high school theatre at Fairmont High School, and with the Muse Machine productions.

“There are many, many facets of performing that aren’t singing on Broadway.”

This grateful thespian that began his performing career here in the Miami Valley is eager to see other young performers reach for their own futures.

“If you’re goal is only to sing on Broadway, then tell yourself you WILL do it. If you’re a young person who wants to do this for a living and you can’t see yourself doing anything else, try it!”

To learn more about Astoria Boulevard with Philip Drennen and Dan Scott’s, please visit their website: http://www.astoria-boulevard.com

Posted in Broadway, Friends, Music - Band, Music - Show Choir, Musical Theatre, Playwright, School, Theatre, Theatre: College, Theatre: Community, Theatre: High School | Leave a comment

Centerville HS senior Jack Gallagher lights the way

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Originally published: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-27336-Dayton-High-School-Theater-Examiner~y2009m10d23-Jack-Gallagher-lights-the-way

Friends - GALLAGHER Jack “The shear difference from a plainly lit stage before the show, and the last little touch – lighting adds to a production that truly takes you to where the show takes place.”

This is why Centerville High School senior, Jackson “Jack” Gallagher, loves lighting design.

Following a Kettering Rec Center production of Pinocchio when Jack was three years old, the future thespian was hooked on theatre. In the years to come Jack was immersed in classes and summer camps that focused on dancing, singing, and acting while investigating the entire store of technical theatre.

Since his first production as a third grader at Washington Township’s Town Hall Theatre to Centerville High School’s recent production of Lucky Stiff, Jack has covered nearly every aspect of a production’s offering. By fourth grade he was involved on tech crew for the first time and has since become one of the Miami Valley’s most gifted high school theatre-tech students, garnering impressive awards for lighting design at the Ohio State Thespian Conference, The International Thespian Festival, and the International Tech Challenge.

Initially, Jack’s passion was in sound. In fact, for his 7^th birthday he asked his parents for a sound board. However, he was soon to discover the radiant world of stage lighting that would launch him on a successful, award winning path.

“I worked with several lighting designers at Town Hall. Darell Porter was probably the most influential. He sat me down several times and taught me the basics about lighting design. However I didn’t start really getting into lighting until I came to CHS.”

The past three years, Jack has served as CHS’s lighting designer for Lucky Stiff, The Importance of Being Earnest, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Rumors, and Once Upon A Mattress for which he received a DayTony Award. In July 2009, Jack visually transported audiences to lush islands in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic, South Pacific at Beavercreek High School.

Jack Gallagher steadfastly follows his own regimen of advice that he thoughtfully shares with fellow students who wish to pursue theatre technical studies during their high school tenures by reading numerous articles, talking to professionals, getting involved in community theatre, and by simply being himself.

“The theatre world is about the size of a penny, and everyone knows everyone. Connections can mean more than your skills sometimes, so having good people skills and meeting the right people is invaluable.”

June 2010, the award winning student lighting designer will take leave of the CHS stage to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“I’ve applied for early decision at Carnegie Mellon and I have an interview on November 8^th. So if everything goes well I might be accepted as early as then and would major in theatrical design.”

Even at 18, Jack has a firm vision for his future, balanced with the philosophies instilled by CHS theatre instructors, Joe Buemner and Mike Cordonnier.

“Theatre is an ever changing market and I don’t want to have too much of a set plan because I probably won’t end up following that idea. People, friends, relationships, constantly change and they affect what you can do and jobs you can get. So I’ll major in theatre and see where life takes me. Maybe further down the road I would like to teach at a university and settle down and have a family. But who knows what tomorrow will hold.”

For more information on upcoming events at CHS’s Performing Arts Center, please call 937-439-3535, or visit their website http://www.centerville.k12.oh.us/index.php?section=61

Posted in Entertainment, Music - Band, Music - Show Choir, Musical Theatre, Playwright, School, Theatre, Theatre: College, Theatre: Community, Theatre: High School | Leave a comment

"September Song"

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Every September 1st, I think of this beautiful song by Weill & Anderson.

The first time I heard “September Song” was in the mid-late 1980’s when Mr. Logan played a recording of it. I cannot remember who sang it but it seems like it was Ray Bolger’s voice in my mind. The lyrics are beautiful, wistful…

SEPTEMBER SONG

When I was a young man courting the girls
I played me a waiting game
If a maid refused me with tossing curls
I’d let the old Earth make a couple of whirls
While I plied her with tears in lieu of pearls
And as time came around she came my way
As time came around, she came

When you meet with the young girls early in the Spring
You court them in song and rhyme
They answer with words and a clover ring
But if you could examine the goods they bring
They have little to offer but the songs they sing
And the plentiful waste of time of day
A plentiful waste of time

Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn’t got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I’ll spend with you
These precious days I’ll spend with you

Posted in Inspiration, Music - Band, Musical Theatre, People: Joshua Logan, Playwright, Theatre | Leave a comment

John William Garrett Clary

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

John William Garrett Clary was born August 31, 1898, northwest of Elwood, Indiana in Madison County. His parents were John William & Mary Frances Noble Clary. His mother’s line came from Salisbury, Maryland, and settled in Clermont County, Ohio before moving on to Madison County, Indiana.

Garrett married Mary Belle Jones on September 30, 1920, and they had three children: Ronald Monroe Clary (1921-1936), Donna Mae Clary Barmes (1924-1992), and Joyce Ann Clary Riser (1933).

Garrett was a farmer in Boone Township of Madison County, Indiana, retiring to Elwood in 1966. Garrett died in October, 1997, and is buried in Forrestville Cemetery in Madison County, Indiana.

Their lineage: (I apologize for any misspelling of names)

Ronald Monroe Clary (died at age 15)
Donna Mae Clary – married Leroy D. Barmes
1. Diana Kay Barmes Haas
  1. Darin L. Jolliffe-Haas
    1. Jose A. Jolliffe-Haas
  2. Dena Linn Haas Johnson
    1. Jonathan Garrett Surber
    2. Andrew Langlee Barmes Surber
    3. Kaytlinn Mae Johnson
    4. James Johnson
2. Destin Lang Haas
  1. Parker Leroy Haas
  2. Frederick Lee Haas
3. Ronald Dean Barmes
  1. Alicia Deann Barmes Hildenbrandt
    1. Jamie Hildenbrandt
    2. Jennifer Hildenbrandt
    3. Jordan Hildenbrandt
  2. Amanda Barmes Yaba
    1. Hailey Yaba
    2. Jocelyn Yaba
4. Tommy Kent Barmes
  1. Jarod Barmes
  2. Michael Barmes
Joyce Ann Clary Riser – married to Roderick Riser
1. Kim Collette Riser Watt
  1. Brittany Watt
  2. Derek Watt
2. Debra Deann Fox
  1. Joshua Fox
  2. Jacob Fox
  3. Jordan Fox

Posted in Family Life, Indiana, The Haasienda | Leave a comment

Lazy Sunday

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

I had every full intention of being more productive today but it clearly was not meant to be.

Last night, Jose and I attended a “Poor White Trash Birthday Party” for our friend, Christi Salchak. It was a riot. The guests were invited to dress in their finest white trash attire. I was more reluctant than my son who wore his tight “Little Hottie” shirt he bought from Kings Island, a painted on mustache, hiking boots, and a ball cap… he looked the part. The Salchak kids were appropriately dressed for this, as was their mother who appeared in the front yard to greet us wearing a halter top, ratty shorts, a pink bathrobe, leopard print slippers, and curlers in her hair.

jose carrie

The hosts provided hot dogs and boxes of moon pies, and the guests were to bring something. We brought a large bowl filled with individual pudding cups, cheap fruit pies, and plastic spoons sticking up amongst the pudding and pie arrangement. To top it off, which had everyone howling, we plopped down a bucket of Lee’s chicken on the table. We roasted our own hot dogs, and enjoyed a pleasant fair and terrific conversation.

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Later we played “Butt Charades” and “Toss The Underwear Over The Bar” – and the door prizes were items from a laundry basket of garage sale items. While the teenagers played hide and seek on the vast, wooded, stream-lined property, the adults, and one of my former students (now in college), sat and talked around the campfire.

By 11:30pm, Jose and I were pulling into the Haasienda.

This morning I was wide awake after another fitful night’s sleep. I just could not get comfortable, and the light headache I had endured all of Saturday was much more apparent. I read a little between dozing, and finally roused at 8:00am to feed the animals, eat breakfast, check sugar, take morning meds, and prep for the walk.

While on the walk I smoked my pipe, blew a kiss to the neighbor lady who drove by, and laughed at Flyer trying to catch squirrels. Upon the return home I:

checked items on the computer
endured some Obama bashing on Face Book from some piece of work from my hometown (not the Whack Job who hounded and stalked me all last fall during the election)
watched some coverage of Senator Kennedy’s funeral
blew the leaves in the front yard
waved to the neighbor mowing his yard
took out some weeds
putzed around the backyard
planned to go to the deck to work – but too chilly
cleaned my study
re-covered the material on my piano bench
used the extra material, along with some Magic Stitch, to make a cover for the top of my piano
rehung my windchimes – which have failed to chime this summer
chatted with Jose – and laughed

Now, Jose is off to work. I shall call Mother for our weekly recap, relax, and then pick up Jose from work for the last part of youth group (SIGNS). I look over my laundry list of today’s activities and I still feel as though little was accomplished…

Posted in Barak Obama, Family Life, Family Pets, Indiana, Kennedy Family, Parenting, The Haasienda | Leave a comment

STEP-OFF with the Marching Firebirds

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Late afternoon Friday the skies began turning gray, and rain threatened the Miami Valley. Just as Jose was leaving to report to the band room, the splotches of wetness began appearing on the sidewalk. Within minutes the deluge had begun. At 6:30pm, the rain had stopped and I stepped into the heavy, steamy air to walk to the high school to take photos of STEP-OFF.

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STEP-OFF is one of my favorite traditions to observe with a Fairmont football game. The marching band and guard assembles in front of the school (actually, the performing arts’ wing) and begins the march over to the stadium, winding down Delaine through approximately five blocks of the neighborhood. When the band reaches the opposite side of the school, students and adults who are tailgating before the game, fall in behind the band. Home owners along Delaine are often hosting cookouts, or just standing on their porches, in their yards, to cheer on the Marching Firebirds. As the band moves beneath the rich, overhang of leaves, the too bright stadium’s lights begin filtering through the specks of openings in the green arch. The excitement always mounts as each section of the band, accompanied by the funky rhythms of the percussion, begins a choreographed movement with their instruments – the best being the sousaphones! Once the band arrives at the stadium there is an even greater sense of excitement when the 204 members march through the tunnel beneath the gigantic stadium, drums pounding harder, and louder, creating a fantastic vibration on the seats above. It is a wonderful tradition that I enjoy each home game.

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I took photos as the band started STEP-OFF, and then hurried over to the corner of Lincoln Park Blvd. & Delaine to catch them as they made their first turn into the neighborhood. After the band passed, I walked over to Lincoln Park and the Fraze Pavilion to take photographs. As I walked the park it occurred to me that the recorded music heard floating over the neighborhood from the stadium was not yielding to the band’s pre-game music. I later learned the game’s start had been held due to lightning.

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Jose arrived home, chattering away about the events of the night, and then the deluge began, again… and the rains came… forty days and forty nights…

Posted in Fairmont High School, Fairmont Marching Firebirds, Family Life, Music - Band, Music - Marching Band, Parenting, School, The Haasienda | Leave a comment

"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Wright Flyer Guy

Last night, I sat propped up in bed like I was the King of England, typing away at my laptop resting on the hospital table (a great purchase so that I can work from bed in the mornings and late evenings), watching the special “celebration” for Senator Ted Kennedy. What a wonderful tribute to the Liberal Lion, as he has been dubbed. Brian Stokes Mitchell sang a beautifully arranged version of “The Impossible Dream” from MAN OF LAMANCHA.

The most touching moment, for me, was the tribute paid to “Uncle Ted” by his niece, Caroline Kennedy. Her voice cracked a few times, heightening the emotion following the tremendous tributes from Senator Kennedy’s political friends and foes. Caroline recounted the “history trips” on which Uncle Ted took the massive numbers of nieces and nephews to various historical sites around the country. This grabbed me immediately, wishing I had been a nephew on those excursions, and reminding myself that I am an uncle who enjoys sharing history with his nephews. Caroline stated the trip from Hyannis Port to the Kennedy Library in Boston, passing familiar historical sites, was “my last history trip with Uncle Ted.”

And then, to close the celebration, a rousing Irish number, one of my favorites, “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” It was joyful, yet wistful. It seemed to me, the most touching tribute to Senator Kennedy, and the entire Kennedy family.

This morning, I am writing, and watching the preparations for Senator Kennedy’s funeral in Boston. The family is just leaving the Kennedy Library, and the mourners are assembling at the church. It is strange to think that for this service, Senator Kennedy’s voice will not be heard. Since 1968, his voice has become familiar leading family and friends through services for various family members… Bobby, Rose, Jackie, John, and various family members.

The television coverage is showing the casket leaving the library, a fitting exit in a gentle rain. There are also the former presidents and vice-presidents, and their wives gathering in the cathedral, minus George & Barbara Bush. I am sure this will be a fitting, grand farewell to the last of the three Kennedy brothers who served our country.

Irish Eyes

There’s a tear in your eye, And I’m wondering why,
For it never should be there at all.
With such pow’r in your smile, Sure a stone you’d beguile,
So there’s never a teardrop should fall.
When your sweet lilting laughter’s Like some fairy song,
And your eyes twinkle bright as can be;
You should laugh all the while And all other times smile,
And now, smile a smile for me.

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, ’tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
When Irish hearts are happy,
All the world seems bright and gay.
And when Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, they steal your heart away.

For your smile is a part Of the love in your heart,
And it makes even sunshine more bright.
Like the linnet’s sweet song, Crooning all the day long,
Comes your laughter and light.
For the springtime of life Is the sweetest of all
There is ne’er a real care or regret;
And while springtime is ours Throughout all of youth’s hours,
Let us smile each chance we get.

Posted in Barak Obama, First Ladies, Inspiration, Kennedy Family, Politics, U.S. History, U.S. Presidents, White House | Leave a comment

The Haasienda on Shroyer…

…The Rage Is Not About Healthcare…

…An Absence of Class…

…Vote For The WRIGHT BROTHERS…

…His Baton Is Laid Down…

Butler's Coleman Hemsath marks his 30th production with Singin' In The Rain

Wayne High School senior Tray Shelton shines in Moon Over Buffalo

Fairmont grad Phil Drennen launches new writing career following Altar Boyz tour

Centerville HS senior Jack Gallagher lights the way

"September Song"

John William Garrett Clary

Lazy Sunday

STEP-OFF with the Marching Firebirds

"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"

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