Give or take a minute or two, at 5:20 AM, the bathing ritual begins.
Chief leads the parade with his noisy, sloppy lapping that echoes loudly throughout my bedroom.
Before long, Erma follows with either her own bathing, or she begins gnawing on the community bone – which she always does every night when the lights officially go out.
Colonel Deeds hates to be left out and makes it a trio with Harrigan promptly joining. Haaskins, who is generally snuggling on my pillow, turns on to her back and moans and grunts while wiggling a bit, imitating her mother, Bailey.
Before long, I shout, “Stop!”
There’s an immediate pause to the bathing.
I can probably time it to six or seven seconds when it slowly picks back up.
My morning hope of sleeping straight through to 6 AM is always thwarted by five dogs bathing.
Two photos of Colonel Deeds snuggling before a nap begins.
Haaskins (aka Haasy, Haas, Haasky) jumps off my bed every morning at 6 AM and gives the other four dogs a kiss. She repeats this several times throughout the day.
Here are some photos of Haasy giving Harrigan and Erma their evening kisses. And I’m tossing in a photo of Colonel Deeds standing in the last rays of Monday.
2014: Bailey with Chief2016: Harrigan, Chief, Bailey2023: student, Mikaia with 3 month old Colonel Deeds 2025: Darin and 2 year old Colonel Deeds- at typical pose 
The original Ferris Wheel, towering over the midway at the 1893 World’s Fair, was an engineering marvel and a spectacle that captivated millions with its grand scale and smooth operation.
At the heart of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the Ferris Wheel stood as a monumental symbol of human ingenuity. Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., this massive structure was far from an ordinary amusement ride—it was an engineering triumph that forever changed the entertainment landscape.
Soaring high above the fairgrounds, the Ferris Wheel featured 36 cars, each capable of holding up to 60 passengers. For just four bits, fairgoers could experience the thrill of being lifted into the sky, offering a panoramic view of the grand exposition below. Imagine the sight of 2,160 passengers—each weighing about 140 pounds—suspended in the air, with the total weight in motion reaching an astonishing 1,191 tons.
Opening to the public on June 21, 1893, the Ferris Wheel operated flawlessly until the fair’s end on November 6, 1893. During this period, it attracted 1,453,611 paid admissions, with additional free trips granted to dignitaries and special guests. Each ride consisted of a single revolution with six stops for loading, followed by a nine-minute, nonstop whirl—a breathtaking experience for those fortunate enough to secure a spot.
Financially, the Ferris Wheel was as successful as it was spectacular. With gross earnings totaling $726,805, the company retained $513,403 after expenses, netting a substantial profit of $395,000. The Wheel’s triumph was not just in its profits, but in the awe it inspired, leaving an indelible mark on the history of world’s fairs and amusement rides.
As the sun set on the World’s Fair, the Ferris Wheel stood as a testament to the heights of imagination and the limitless possibilities of innovation. It was more than just a ride; it was an experience that left millions gazing up in wonder, forever captivated by the giant wheel that turned above them.
The original 1893 Ferris Wheel would find a new life in St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair.
ELWOOD: contrary to popular, legendary belief, no part of the Ferris Wheel was ever constructed in Elwood. The Chicago Historical Society sent me all the research, and sadly, Elwood was not a part of the Ferris Wheel’s history.
Today would have been the 83rd birthday of my birth father, Danny Lee Jolliff, born in 1942 to William “Bill/Billy” Montgomery Jolliff and Rosemary Richardson Jolliff.
I was blessed with two wonderful maternal grandparents, Donna Clary Barmes and Leroy Barmes.
I grew up around the corner from my grandparents, and saw them nearly every day of my life until I went off to college at Ball State University. Even after beginning college, Mother and my grandparents were always at every performance, or came over to Muncie for dinners and other family events.
Grandma Donna passed sway in June 1992, and Grandpa Leroy passed in June 2004. Grandpa Leroy got to know my two eldest sons, Joshua and Matthew, as well as my sister’s two oldest sons, Jonathan and Andrew.
They were tremendously supportive of their grandchildren, and went beyond their call of duty to make certain we had everything we needed, and all the extras.
Know you are still missed, Grandma Donna and Grandpa Leroy, and still very much loved…
Wednesday, I was house manager for an event at Dayton Live’s Victoria Theatre. It opened in 1866 and has endured several fires, the 1913 Flood, and countless rebirths. Since the mid-1990s, it has served as one of Dayton’s premiere entertainment venues.
Within the first twenty minutes I thought I had selected the wrong movie. I entertained leaving, but I M glad I stayed because it turned out to be a great movie.
On this date in 1905, Eleanor Anna Roosevelt, the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, married her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
They were married in the home of Eleanor’s cousin on East 76th Street in Manhattan, and was given away by her Uncle Teddy. It was the birthday of Eleanor’s late mother, Anna Hall Roosevelt.
My NYC apartment was at Third & East 76th streets, several blocks west of the site where they were married. There is a plaque commemorating the site of their wedding.
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, featuring the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Chorus, presented “Requiem,” highlighting the Faure “Requiem” with other highlights. The second performance will be tonight.
Outside The Dayton Arcade The grand staircase at The Schu
In April 1996, I stepped into the brand new sanctuary to attend my first choir rehearsal as the new music director at Normandy United Methodist Church. The choir president introduced me to the choir by reading my biography. I noted a blond head popped up and directed her wide, lovely eyes at me when the gentleman mentioned Ball State University. The blond lady mouthed, “me, too!” and began bounce-dancing in her seat.
I gave the choir a break after an hour of rehearsing and the cheery blonde made a beeline to my conductor’s stand. “Put ‘er there, alumni pal. I went to Testical Tech, too.” I had no idea what she was talking about. “Testical Tech?”
Ball State.
It was a love at first-meeting! Ann Seybold spoke my language!
Ann and I were fellow Hoosiers, Ohio-transplants, musicians, Testicle Tech, er, Ball State University grads, and we connected with a tremendous love for sharing stories, jokes, mischief, and practical jokes.
And, we were blonde. However, I suspect I was a true blonde whereas Ann, to my lack of hair salon knowledge, was probably a spiritual-blonde.
Ann’s laughter generally preceded her into any room, and I was always greeted with, “Hey, Chickie-Babe.”
To know Ann Seybold was to know a little more of life, and how to laugh harder, and more often. I also came to know her daughters, Beth and Laura, through a lot of musical endeavors, as well as her husband, Jim, and son, Scott. The Seybolds and I have stayed in contact all these years, mostly at music events for Beth’s daughters, Ava and Kate.
The fall of November, 1999, I directed the Normandy Production for the 40th anniversary of the 1959 Broadway musical premiere, THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Ann, and fifty-one other ladies were my Nuns from Nonnberg Abby. I must say, it was a production of the heart and I was surrounded with the best of the best who grew as performers, each giving the production their heart.
Ann didn’t just give more, she was more. If there was laughter or chuckles from the Nuns during rehearsal, I instinctively knew Ann was at the core. When the Nuns discovered a piece of their habit could also double as a delicate, naughty undergarment from Victoria’s Secret, I somehow knew Ann was one of the original models, along with Duneen DeVore and several others.
For “Maria,” where the Nuns gathered about Mother Abbess to woefully complain about the postulant, Maria, I added additonal Nuns to fill out the sound. Ann was a filler-outer soprano in that particular scene.
During the Saturday matinee, I noticed that Ann was missing during the first half of “Maria.” My Kurt von Trapp, Erick DeVore, had taken a backstage spill, breaking his wrist during production week and my worryscope began rising as I searched the stage for Ann. I was assured over the headset by the stage-manager that Ann was fine, she had missed her cue, and “Wait till you get a load of what happened!”
After the show, the Naughty Nun, looking cheerfully guilty, rushed up to apologize. “Well, after the opening, I stepped outside the dressing room to cool off [Ann was always fanning herself] and I am standing there talking to some others [Ann was always talking to others] and I began listening to the beautiful chorus and all of a sudden it dawned on me that I was supposed to be in that chorus!”
There was no way anyone could not laugh at her story. I am still chuckling as I write this. A fellow Nun was standing next to her and I made the request that she be The Naughty Nun’s handler until the production closed.
Ann’s health battles in recent years may have phsyically tackled her, but her loveable, laughable spirit never winced.
Oh, Ann Seybold, my Naughty Nun, even though your Chickie-Babe and fellw Testicle Tech alum did not see you very often, I shall miss not sharing this world with you. St Peter has been dutiifully warned of your arrival, and Oscar Hammerstein II has altered the lryics, now reading as “How do you solve a problem like Ann Seybold?”
Rest in laughter, my dear, sweet Naughty Nun, and know that you are loved…
March 2, 2011, these two pups were thirteen weeks old and had been at The Haasienda for one week. Chief could hop or stretch from step to step as he climbed up the deck steps or interior stairs. Navi, however, still needed to be lifted or carried.
In a few photos, they are seen with my dog, Flyer (2000-2013).
It’s a three-show day at The Schu for Peter Pan, Wendy, Michael, John, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell, and all the crew from Neverland. It’s a long day for all, and there will be another round on Sunday.
As I reported last Friday, I went to the Kettering Health Urgent Care at the nearby Town & Country Shopping Center. The medication did knock the sinus infection.
I returned Monday afternoon after experiencing some wheezing when I took deep breaths, especially when coughing. The “student doctor” was terrific and he and the overseeing physician immediately set me off back to Kroger for steroids and a stronger cough medication.
While my sinus infection has been cleared up, it has left me with a strained voice with little volume.
All throughout this bout of being sick, The Pooches have been troopers. There was less activity for five days, but they dove into the Camp Haasienda atmosphere with lots of napping, more potty breaks, and lots of treats. Colonel Deeds and Haaskins rarely left my side and snuggled me with their own attempts at nursing me back to health.
Wednesday night’s opening of the re-imagined tour of PETER PAN had the audience soaring.
A huge surprise was seeing Chris & Chuck Albert who I first met in 1992 when their daughter, Megan, was my piano student. I even got to briefly chat with Megan on the phone. It was so nice to see them and to feel like there had been no disconnect for twenty years.
I am house managing tonight, Friday, and Saturday before returning to teaching Monday.
Dave lovingly sent me Joshua’s eye glasses that he wore for many years. They were his favorite pair.
I placed them next to the grouping of Willow Tree statuettes, the one of “father with son” that I received on my first Father’s Day. Of course, like everything else, they will gather plenty of dust.
I began feeling the symptoms last Saturday and did everything by the book to ward it off: sinus flushes, tons of water, guaifenesin, Emergen-C mixed with a squeezed lemon, and rest.
On Tuesday night, we had a house manager meeting at Schuster, during which we were fed a delicious Greek spread; however, I could barely eat. By Wednesday night at 8:40 PM, I was tucked into bed and did not fully rise today at 4:45 PM except to feed and potty the dogs.
I will admit that I should have ventured out sooner for an urgent care visit, but so often, Colonel Deeds insisted on snuggling with his chin resting across my neck and I couldn’t disturb him. Free nursing is hard to come by.
I planned to be away for several hours or more when I hopped on the bus at 5:15 PM, headed for the Kettering Health Urgent Care in Town & Country. I walked into an empty waiting room, handed over my information, and was in an examining room in under 5 minutes. My vitals were checked and then the nurse practitioner took over.
By 5:35 PM, I was out the door and walking across Shroyer Road to Kroger to grab my prescription and ingredients for chicken and vegetable soup. I stepped off the bus right at 6:19 PM and in the kitchen prepping the soup.
Fortunately, several generous colleagues covered my Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shifts.
The Haasienda on Shroyer... 