The Haasienda on Shroyer…

I believe all of Dayton and the surrounding area came to The Park tonight due to the impending winter storms approaching. It was maddening and I had the most incredible team who braved the never-ending lines as hot chocolate machines stopped cooperating and the struggle to keep up with the demand for popcorn while also stocking the other three locations hit a feverish pitch in the middle of the evening.

Sarah Emmons, The Park’s media specialist, decided at the last minute to take this Friday off and work this evening instead. Had she not joined us in The Roundhouse we would have foundered. She was the only other person over 21 who could man the alcohol additives while I took orders and transactions and maintained the Guest line. Will was a popcorn power machine for five straight hours, and Patrick held his own filling in with additional popcorn support, hot chocolate and coffee stations, candy orders, and grabbing beverages. He also managed to be the hot chocolate machine mechanic with Sarah when they flipped at the worst possible moments.

I’ve been so fortunate to have incredible staff in The Roundhouse Cafe but tonight’s trio, hit with an unbelievable force of never ceasing lines of Guests and equipment malfunctioning, rose to amazing heights of service and dedication, never once losing their incredible positive spirits and humor.

I truly appreciate Sarah, Will, and Patrick! Thank you.

I made it to No. 18 but the bus was quite ill and had to return to the garage. Fortunately, a Project Mobility bus swept through and toted three of us to the terminal. Now, I clocked this driver with my iPhone’s speed app he was determined we three should make our connections to No. 17 north and south. I wish my always-tardy No. 17 drivers had this same determination. The Project Mobility driver even pulled up beside No. 17 South so I wouldn’t have to walk far.

While my body is accelerating in agony from the incoming weather and this past shift, I barely notice the pain because I’m still so grateful for Sarah, Will, and Patrick keeping The Roundhouse Cafe steady and smooth.

Thanks, Santa! And be sure to put something extra in their stockings. They truly deserve it.

Nine years ago, this evening, as Josh and I were unloading the van following an unseasonably warm day of sheer fun with dining, shopping, and Bill’s Donuts, Navi and Chief escaped the propped-open front door and bolted toward the high school with Josh and me in pursuit.

I saw one of the dogs cross a very busy Shroyer Road and heard two thumps as the van driver continued without stopping. I reached the limp body to find Navi unconscious. By this time, Josh had retrieved Chief and joined me in the last few steps toward the house. While laying on the front porch, Navi revived, acting stunned, appeared to be fine and we could only locate a rug-burn spot on her inner thigh. We took her to the emergency vet and following X-rays and further examination, we were told Navi’s internal injuries were severe and she could not recover.

Josh and I returned home to retrieve Chief who we found in a kitchen corner, crying and howling. His tears stirred both Joshua and myself.

Back at the emergency vet, they brought Navi into the room, wiggling and excited to see us, but the wrapped syringe on her leg told the rest of the story. We all lay on the floor spending time with her until her breathing became labored and the internal injuries became apparent. Josh summoned the veterinarian. I held Navi in my arms as she continued giving me kisses. The procedure began and the kisses began to fade. Three-year-old Navi laid her head on my shoulder and went to sleep.

The previous July, my thirteen-year-old Flyer passed away. That evening, Chief, Navi, Joshua, and I went for a walk and passed the Fairmont High School stadium where a drum-bugle corps was rehearsing to a vast crowd of fans. They concluded their program with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s poignant and majestic, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

After Navi passed, we stepped back out into the warm weather as a thunderstorm raged.  I found myself sitting on the curb, sobbing with Chief and Josh seated next to me.  Several people from the waiting room recognized what was happening, and came out to hold umbrellas over us.  When I finally rose to leave, I thanked them.  The one gentleman put his arm around me, and said, “You’ll never walk alone.  Our little pals are always with us.”

The following morning, Chief and I embarked on our first walk with just the two of us.  It was a painful, tear-filled walk.  When I returned home, I noticed a post beneath that morning’s walk, from my friend, Alice Kay Hoover.  It simply read, “Walk on.”  My friend, Andrea Norrington, posted a YouTube video of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

A student’s mom penned a poem for her little furry friend, Navi, and I still find it touching, nine years later.

“If Navi Could Speak” by Missy Hoskins

If Navi could speak, I wonder what she would say?
Maybe, “How are you doing on this nice, fine day?”
She would say “Oh, how I loved all the flowers and trees.
And walking next to my friend with pants up to his knees.”
She would say, “I see Flyer and my kitty cat friend too.
There’s a young man here and he kind of looks like you.”
She would say “This place glistens of gold like the coming of dawn.
There’s a special bridge here that I keep my eye on.”
She would say how she misses you and wishes you were near.
“But, for now, I will stay and wait for you here.”

Four days later, late Christmas night, I was near Mason, Ohio retrieving two eight-week-old sisters, the soon-to-be infamous Bailey and Harrigan. The somber and lethargic Chief had a reason to find his energy, once more, and became the best big brother, ever protective of his two tiny charges.

But, on this ninth anniversary, the spirit of Navi still resonates throughout The Haasienda, and she is still loved as dearly as the others who are encamped at the entrance to Rainbow Bridge.

Make it a great day, always remembering you’ll never walk alone…

The sun has been out all day and its inviting warmth is a stark contrast to the dullness of the past days. I prefer the sunshine to the clouds and steel grey sky. I will be at The Park this afternoon and evening.

Today marks the birthdays of two important people, my great-grandmother, Mary Belle Jones Clary (20 December 1897 – 28 January 1969), mother of my maternal grandmother, Donna Clary Barmes, and my partner Richard “Rick” Frances Donson (20 December 1963 – 10 April 1990) on his 59th birthday.

Grandma Belle was a beautiful soul and though I was quite young when she died, I still have many fond memories of her. When Grandpa Garrett retired from farming in 1966, they moved into Elwood (Indiana) and lived on Ninth Street, a few blocks north of us. With my grandparents on the opposite corner of where I lived, I was quite lucky to be so near two generations of family. Grandma Belle was the daughter of Joel Monroe Jones and Anna Greenlee Jones, the wife of John William Garrett Clary, and the mother of Ronald Monroe Clary, Donna Mae Clary Barmes, and Joyce Ann Clary Riser.

Rick has been gone nearly thirty-three years and while life has continued without him, I do still miss him in different ways but manage to not dwell on it. For some reason, today feels especially lonely without him. Perhaps it is because his birthday ended the three months of us being the same age with me catching up with him the following September. This year’s birthday would have embarked on our being on the brink of entering our sixties.

From Elizabeth Browning’s “A Woman’s Shortcomings”

Unless you can think, when the song is done,
No other is soft in the rhythm;
Unless you can feel, when left by One,
That all men else go with him;
Unless you can know, when unpraised by his breath,
That your beauty itself wants proving;
Unless you can swear “For life, for death!” –
Oh, fear to call it loving!

Unless you can muse in a crowd all day
On the absent face that fixed you;
Unless you can love, as the angels may,
With the breadth of heaven betwixt you;
Unless you can dream that his faith is fast,
Through behoving and unbehoving;
Unless you can die when the dream is past –
Oh, never call it loving!

Make it a great day…

PHOTOS: Grandma Belle & me, 1965; Rick & me at Smith-Wallbridge Drum-Major Camp, 1979.

It is 28 degrees but it is not a biting cold as we’ve had this past week. We are expected to have a gradual rise from 31 degrees to 49 degrees before the temperatures plummet to 9 degrees on Christmas Eve day and -2 degrees on Christmas morning.

I have a shift at The Roundhouse Cafe from 4 PM – 10 PM and shall repeat this through Friday but with an additional hour added on that last day. I have an entirely new crew today. I am sure they shall rise to the occasion of superb Guest Experience service as previous teams.

Last night concluded my studio lessons until the second week of January. With my duties at The Park, my typically two full weeks of break are amended to one week. I still hope to maintain a healthy schedule that returns me to researching and writing; I have sorely missed this.

And I leave you with a Robert Louis Stevenson poem as I bid you to join me in making it a great day!

Winter-Time by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding cake.

Before settling my head into my pillow last evening, I weighed the options of sleeping all morning to catch up on rest or grabbing the 7:20 AM bus to one of my favorite eating haunts. I wake at 7 AM every morning, feed and potty the dogs, and then return to bed for continued sleep as I wade through the unusual hours I am needed at The Park. I awoke on my own at 6:50 AM and set about tending to the pooches, dressed, and prepped for No. 17.

After breakfast, I grabbed a few items from Walmart and was back home by 10:30 AM where I crawled back into bed with my two regular snugglers, Bailey and Harrigan. The Sisters’ Gotcha Day will be Christmas night, celebrating nine years of us being together.

Friday night at The Park was a tidal wave of Guests passing by the counter in The Roundhouse Cafe at The Park and I was fortunate to have an incredible team of workers. Saturday night was a constant, non-stop line of smiling and cheerful humanity. I had another fantastic team with a returning Emma Sperry, who was the master bartender, and Steve Lucht, our curator; Hank from Fairmont High School and Sarah from Centerville High School were also returnees. It flowed like The Great Miami River that curves past The Park.

Sarah’s grandparents, Rick and Jane Schwartz, stopped by for some refreshments, as did Emily and Ashley Webb. Kim Villalva paid a brief visit, as did Dalton Gebele, his mother, Marian, and I finally got to meet Ava! She’s a doll baby!

From 3:30 PM until 11:45 PM I will be in both in-person and Zoom lessons. The next five days are at The Park, and then I’ve Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off before returning to the last five days of “A Carillon Christmas.”

I need to attend to a few things before hanging in the study for the next eight hours.

Make it a great day!

PHOTOS: a) Rick & Jane Schwartz, Sarah Kress, Brady Kress; b) Saturday’s Roundhouse Cafe team with Hank, Emma, Steve, and Sarah; c) Sarah and I with the Tree of Light; d) Bailey snuggling on my neck

Remembering my birth father who died on this date in 1984.

Danny Lee Jolliff 22 March 1942 ~ 17 December 1984

119 years ago, at 10:35 AM, two brothers, bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, lifted from the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to achieve the first manned, heavier-than-air flight. I love living in Dayton, Ohio and feeling as though I am a part of the Wright Brothers’ history.

Yesterday, I went to hear The Carillon Brass at The Human Race Theatre Company’s The Loft Theatre with Mama Kay and two others. I took a few photos and then slept for the duration of their concert. I actually caught the last few minutes. We lunched at the Kettering Subway on Far Hills Avenue where I was a bit more roused and then I napped for one hour before gathering my things for The Park. Mama Kay drove me to The Park en route to one of her events, which I appreciated greatly as I got some rest.

And with that one-hour nap, I was refreshed and felt like the non-grumpy soul I recognized.

I was a bit early for my shift with The Roundhouse Cafe so I took the opportunity to make several cafe-operational video clips for all the new folks joining me later.

We had large crowds and I couldn’t have been more proud of my crew. There was Emma Sperry, a staff member in collections; Nathan from Oakwood High School, who has become a professional popcorn popper was with me from 3 PM – 7 PM; a new young staff member, Josh, a senior at Oakwood High School, who will be attending Knox College in Illinois on a baseball scholarship, had his first official night at The Park; Joyce Ellison, a regular Volunteer with The Park, offered her evening, knowing how heavy it would be; and then, family friend, Sarah Gebele and her boyfriend, Ryan Nash, joined us. The evening was so efficient and smooth, even when the hot chocolate machine would give us fits.

I have been so fortunate and blessed to have some incredible Guest Experience Team members working alongside me in The Roundhouse Cafe and we’ve still eleven more days to go!

It’s currently a very cold 31 degrees and it is to drop to 28 degrees by 7 PM just as the train rides are well underway. I am hoping No. 17 is running on time so I can make my connection. I am still feeling a bit of the drags from yesterday and want to conserve as much energy as possible.

Make it a great day!

Grumpy.

I woke up feeling grumpy and after forty minutes I am still in a very grumpy mood. Even in the last dream I recall before waking, I was grumpy in the dream. I know the grumpiness shall dwindle shortly, but I am tired. Now, I am feeling the strain of fatigue on all levels.

I had two phenomenal assistants in The Roundhouse Café last evening, Joyce Ellison, with whom I worked last week, and Miami University student and Oakwood High School graduate, Will Connell. We were busy and both worked terribly hard and made the entire evening so enjoyable. At one point, a long table holding many heavy boxes containing popcorn kits collapsed. I was with Guests at that moment and by the time I reached the back stocking area, Will was already attending to the situation.

There are twelve more shifts of “A Carillon Christmas” and while I am enjoying it, I will be happy to return to my regular life of researching and writing, and spending time with Guests in The Atrium, splashing about in Dayton’s rich history.

Several friends have questioned if I am doing “too much.” Of course, I am. I have always done “too much.” Yes, I must approach my physical life differently, but keeping the late hours at The Park is temporary. Plus, this is, in so many ways, a victory for me to prove to myself the “mind over matter” theory. It’s been refreshing and comforting to know I can still do things beyond my normal physical level. My brain and attitude are boosted.

This morning, my routine is adjusted, and I am losing four hours of much-needed sleep; however, it will be my only festive concert to attend this year. Every Christmas season, Mama Kay, several others, and I head down to The Human Race Theatre Company’s Loft auditorium to attend an hour-long concert by The Carillon Brass. I love this concert and the jovial camaraderie shared by this brilliant quintet. I thought Mary Lowe and Sue Winterstein were to originally join Mama Kay and myself, but sadly, that is not the case for today’s concert. I will miss seeing these two ladies and it is unlikely I shall see them before the new year.

Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to get at least two hours of a nap in after the concert before it is time to leave for The Park. I am dreading tonight as there were four student volunteers from Beavercreek High School who bailed because they “forgot about previous commitments.” Ugh…

It is time to get myself ready for the concert. My sinuses are upended. I am confident my mood shall make a turn for the better but in the meantime, this is what I have with me. So be it.

Make it a great day!

I found a gift bag on my front porch from the McClain family. Sam was in grade school, about third grade, when he began studying voice and theatre with me. There were goodies in the bag as well as this terrific collage with photos of Sam and I throughout the years. As you can see from some of the photos, I used to be the taller of the two of us but about five years ago he caught up with me in height and like his brother, Max, surpassed me.

Well, we are now on the final leg of our journey as Sam begins the second semester of his senior year of high school. It’s bittersweet, to say the least, and it is not something unfamiliar to me in thirty-eight years of teaching, but when you have students from grade school through their senior year graduation, it’s always a sad moment for me. But, Sam has been a unique student in many ways, and our work together has also been unique in many ways. For several years, a number of my Muse Machine students talked about this boy they’d nicknamed “Darin Junior” without realizing he was one of my students.

Sam is the kind of young man you’d want for a son. He possesses so many wonderful qualities, outstanding leadership, music and theatre talent, and a huge heart to name a few.

It will be a treat to follow Sam’s college career and his life career but oh, how I will miss this young fellow.

Know you are loved, Sam…

What a Tuesday night at The Park.

Several times throughout the day, The Roundhouse Cafe schedule for workers changed. In the end it was Will, an Oakwood High School graduate and Miami University sophomore majoring in psychology, and Alex a junior soccer player at Fairmont High School. These fellows turned into Olympic competitors the full evening. They were unbeatable.

The Guests were fantastic, evening after waiting in long lines for our service with three great smiles.

I’m ready to be home to see my Quartet. The No. 18 bus should be here any second.

Michael Wager sent me this article inquiring if my surname, Jolliffe, was connected to the French word and spelling.

Yes, my surname is “jolly.”

My French heritage spelled our name Jollivau. The first French ancestor, Philippe Leigh Jollivau came to this continent in 1693 as an indentured servant.

The name changed to a British spelling, Jollival and eventually to Jolliffe. During WWI, the “e” was dropped with war records and my great grandfather just left it. His siblings also dropped the “e.” (?) In 1984 when I was adopted by David Haas, I added Haas and returned the “e” since it didn’t really matter.

Getting students to pronounce Jolliffe-Haas was impossible. After one student referred to me as Mr. Häagen-Dazs, I assured him that I was sweet, like a premium brand of ice cream from that day on a began going just by Mr. Haas!

Thanks, again, for the article, Michael!

I love this quintet from The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

The tubist always reminds me of Tool Time Tim Taylor’s neighbor, Wilson, until he sets down his tuba.

The steel grey sky finally lost its struggle to the brilliant sun that has been battling for a glimpse of the earth for nearly an hour. Seeing the blue sky is a much-welcome respite from the dullness of the previous weeks.

Train rides were canceled for Wednesday evening at The Park due to rain. The wet weather did not deter Guests from coming out to enjoy “A Carillon Christmas.”  It also did not keep Chuck Johnson from traipsing quite a few steps from the Deeds Barn (replica) to The Roundhouse Café in The Transportation Center. By 6 PM the temperatures are expected to drop from the current 45 degrees to 38 degrees. I think it shall be a perfect December night for train rides and Guests enjoying the festivities and lights.

I’ve been listening to Civil War podcasts by HISTORY THAT DOESN’T SUCK and last night I revisited some documentaries on columnist and television personality, Dorothy Kilgallen. Ms. Kilgallen is quite a remarkable and interesting figure. The one documentary featured author and former Hoosier lawyer, Mark Shaw.

It’s almost time to prep for The Park. I get to work with Joyce Ellison, again, and that’s a boost to looking forward to this evening.

AN INTERVIEW

by John B. Taub

I sat with chill December
Beside the evening fire.
“And what do you remember,”
I ventured to inquire,
“Of seasons long forsaken?”
He answered in amaze,
“My age you have mistaken;
I’ve lived but thirty days.”

Make it a great day!

PHOTO: First Flight, 1903 December 17

It’s wet and the more we climb through the day it will get wetter. I have a feeling we shall have no train rides at The Park this evening – but that is not official. Things can change. It’s Ohio!

Tuesday during the day was nothing but resting. Tuesday evening the students energized me with their challenging work and desire to grasp more. Refreshing.

Around midnight, I discovered my iPhone was not charging. It appeared to be charging but was stuck at 41%. I researched and fiddled with several cables. It is doing well now. I have no time in my day to deal with such an issue.

From today until Friday, December 30th, I will be at The Park every day except this Sunday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Fourteen days!

The rain is exacerbating the MS in areas where it is always present and aggravating areas where I don’t generally have issues until wet weather. It’s such a mysterious ailment. At the moment, my sinuses seem little affected by today’s rain.

This is video from Only Boys Aloud triggers such fun! Enjoy! Video: Only Boys Aloud at Buckingham Palace

Make it a great day!

A number of years ago, my friend Jeff Carter introduced me to Donald Fraser’s “The This Christmastide” also known as “Jessye’s Carol.”

The song was in my ear this morning and I thought I’d share it.

I’ve been fairly numb since Saturday’s shift at The Park. We were slammed with long lines and such delightful, understanding, and grateful Guests in The Roundhouse Cafe. We were never without long lines from 5 PM until around 9:45 PM.

My Roundhouse Cafe team included a Volunteer National Honor Society member, Jason, from Beavercreek, Ben from Oakwood High School, Hank from Fairmont High School, and Carillon Historical Park Curator, Steve Lucht. Steve was a lifesaver, stepping into the role of bartender for the hot chocolate and coffee requests for a shot of Bailey’s, Kahlua, Peppermint Schnapps, or Fireball. Without someone over 21, I must leave the cash register area to attend to the alcohol pouring and serving and Steve’s arduous work allowed for an even greater flow of service. We also had Chris Taylor, head of The Park’s maintenance, bringing us items or stepping in a few times to assist. Chris is a great guy who seems to magically appear when most needed and is always helpful to do whatever needs to be done.

Sunday was a washout until it was time to teach at 3 PM. The students made my day even happier. They were prepared and came ready to work and grow.

The day is grey and dull. The 42-degree temperature is a bit warmer at the moment but will plummet to 35 degrees by 9 PM. Wednesday and Thursday will climb to just below 50 degrees,, but we have 100% of rain showers throughout the day.

The Park evenings will be busier this week through December 30th as college students return home for winter breaks and folks arrive for the Christmas holiday with schools out. I am hoping I will have plenty of assistance in The Roundhouse for smooth operation.

I need to prep my lunch, shower, dress, and spend some time with my much-neglected pooches who have received precious little time from me. I love on them as much as I can.

Make it a great day!

PHOTOS: Patrick begins each week’s lesson by loving on my Quartet. (2nd photo) 3-year-old Darin with Santa Claus at Santa Claus Land in Santa Claus, Indiana; 1967.

Before leaving the house, I loved seeing bus No. 17 was actually on time for its 2:54 PM arrival at the stop across the street.

And then it started.

I began seeing the arrival minutes delayed: 1 min… 3 min… 4 min……… 10 minutes! Yes, it was one of the two drivers that mosey along as though there is no schedule to keep. I missed my connection on a day where I was feeling miserable with both MS aches and a week of aggravating gut issues. I made the last twenty minutes on foot, still arriving on time.

Carol, working The Museum Store, warned me that she’d encountered all sorts of objectionable things in her first 90 minutes of work. I laughed it off not once thinking this is how my own shift would progress.

And, it hit…

I discovered my reading glasses had fallen out of my pocket. I’m blind trying to read ANYTHING.

It hit even harder…

Nothing was going as planned.

The Roundhouse Cafe had been slammed with non-stop customers the day before and nothing was prepped as I expected it to be. My cash drawer was $100 off. The laptop cash register iPad was on zero battery charge and there was no charger. I learned later that my own charger for my phone would have worked.

Everything was soon sorted out but I felt behind in everything for the first two hours. I was feeling miserable and frustrated as I could not get my world in order.

I was making the coffee when my mind floated to my childhood bedroom at 825 Main Street in Elwood, Indiana. Mother had hanged a beautiful plaque by my bed.

“It matters not how many storms you weathered but did you bring the ship safely into the harbor?”

I felt a sense of calmness settle over me.

Then, Jane Mockabee arrived to assist me. She was exceptional! Our evening was nothing but a steady parade of cheerful, fun loving Guests who shared their own positive energy so I was as recharged as the iPad.

Now, I’m on the bus and nearing The Haasienda. Although it was a bit harried at first, the evening turned around.

I’m eager to see my Quartet, eat a late bite, and head to bed.

The unrelenting grey skies dampen the spirits of several friends and try to lessen my own, but I persevere. Serving in The Roundhouse at The Park is a great aid in combating the humorless weather.

Yesterday afternoon, I stepped off the bus at Stone Mill & Main streets to cross over to Patterson Blvd just as the sprinkles began. Fortunately, I grabbed my umbrella as I stepped out the door for, by the time I was at the Marriott Hotel, it was a steady rain. I was on the sidewalk alongside the carillon tower when all of a sudden, I saw this white vehicle moving in the grassy parking area toward me. It was Kay Locher, Carillon Historical Park’s Volunteer Coordinator pulling up to offer me a ride up to the main building’s entrance. It was so kind of her and I appreciate the last two or three minutes of walking time cut short to a nice ride beneath the porte cochere.

Friday evening was quite fun and I just realized I forgot to grab a photo of the crew assigned to work with me in The Roundhouse Cafe. I had two first-day workers, each named Anabelle! One is a student at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School and the other Anabelle goes to Fairmont High School. Nathan from Oakwood, with whom I’ve worked before, headed up the popcorn detail to supply enough large bags of popcorn for not only The Roundhouse, but The Carillon Cafe, The Outpost, and The Museum Store, as well. Sarah Emmons, Carillon Historical Park’s Media Coordinator, also joined our crew since two of the fifteen-year-old workers could only stay (by law) until 7 PM. I had seen Sarah coming and going through The Atrium after joining The Park in October, and I was delighted to get to know Sarah. My fingers are crossed that I shall get to work with her again, tonight.

Before crowds got fully underway, Nancy Caupp, a former fellow band parent when our percussion sons were on cymbal line together, stopped in The Roundhouse Cafe to introduce me to her toddler grandson, Henry, along with her husband, John. It was so great to see Nancy, again, after spending years together watching marching band and winter percussion shows

Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the passing of my great-aunt, Joyce Clary Riser. I don’t believe I have ever missed anyone as much as I miss Aunt Joyce, the younger sister of my grandmother, Donna Clary Barmes. I know my cousins, Aunt Joyce’s daughters, Kim and Debbie, miss her terribly, as do their families. I hope the wonderful soul, now adorned with her much-earned angelic wings, knows just how much she is still loved.

My cousin, Debbie, sent me some photos of the decorations placed on her mother’s grave in the 180 year old Forrestville Cemetery in northern Boone Township, Madison County of Central Indiana where eight generations of our Clary, Jones, Barmes, Greenlee, Ball families are buried. Aunt Joyce is buried between her brother, Ronald Monroe Clary, and her parents, Mary Belle Jones Clary and John William Garrett Clary, with my grandparents, Donna Clary Barmes and Leroy Barmes, in the row behind.

I’ve always loved this quiet setting which is a mile north of the original Vinson-Jones farm, one of five properties, that passed down several generations in the family. The generous acreage of my Ball family’s farm borders the north lines of the cemetery. The trees that long dominated the cemetery, named for the long-deserted hamlet across the road, are mostly gone, giving the area a desolated look, not as beautiful as it once was. Nonetheless, it holds a tender loveliness for those loved ones, known to me and those never met, who rest in the burial field.

It is time to prep my dinner for an afternoon and evening at The Park. The rain backed off shortly before the train rides began last night and while we’ve bee forecast with rain for this evening, it is not showing up on my radar.

Make it a great day!

PHOTOS: Aunt Joyce Riser, Debbie Riser Fox, and myself; Aunt Joyce with her niece, Diana, my mother; Aunt Joyce’s gravestone dressed for Christmas 2022.

While it is soon to be 50 degrees we are also expecting rain from about 1 PM until 7 PM. This will interfere with the beginning of the 6 PM train rides at The Park. I hope that is not a severe deterrent from our Guests coming out tonight.

I read today that Celine Dion has put a halt on all performances after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder. So sad. Paola Turner and several other friends took me to see Celine at a Cincinnati concert shortly after Mother passed away in 2019. It was beyond incredible. I also read that Ohio has been hit with a rare measles outbreak that has doubled. Wow.

Last night at The Park was a solid visit of Guests needing popcorn, hot chocolate, and sodas. I was pushed to wrap up all my closing duties as there was little wiggle room to complete tasks between Guests placing their orders. Tonight, I am to have a Volunteer with me and that will help me get caught up on preparing and bagging large popcorn for the other three locations, as well as The Roundhouse Cafe. Friday and Saturday are to be nicer evenings though Saturday is predicted to have rain by 5 PM – Noooooo!

My limbs and head ache from the impending rain and stiffness in my legs and feet are manageable but not comfortable. Since childhood I have been plagued with sinus issues and was a test cast for Dristan just before it came out. Dristan did nothing to aide my sinus pressure and headaches.

I need to prep my lunch to take with me and then get ready for The Park. So far, the No. 17 bus is scheduled to be in front of my house at 2:56 PM. As long it is not one of the two drivers who are always late by 8-12 minutes, I should be good to make my connection.

Make it a great day!

This is from DailyOM and not my own personal submission.

We can be more like trees opening our crown to the Universe and rooting down deep with our feet into mother earth.

A tree that is beginning to grow sends roots down into Mother Earth even as it reaches and opens to the sky above, seeking nourishment from the sun and the moisture in the air and in the rain that falls. In the same way, we can envision ourselves as treelike beings, imagining that we have roots reaching down into the earth, energetic strands that keep us connected. At the same time, the crowns of our heads lift and open to receive nourishment from above. Just like a tree, we seek the sunshine and water we need to survive and thrive. Both trees and people serve as conduits for the intermingling of the opposite and complementary elements of air, water, sun, and earth.

We also share creative ways of growing, regardless of the challenges we come up against in our environments. Trees will even grow through rock, shattering it, in their effort to reach the air and light they need to survive. We are similarly resilient, with a built-in propensity for growth and the conditions that promote it. We find creative ways around the obstacles we confront as we move along our paths, moving toward the light that feeds us, just as trees grow around other trees and rocks as they make their way upward.

Contemplating the ways in which trees and people mirror one another brings us into alignment with the reality that we are part of Mother Nature. Our children, and the trees and their children, will live together on the earth as long as we all survive, sharing the elements and serving together to forward nature’s plan. Walking in a forest can be a meditation, the interweaving lives of all living creatures and the planet on which we all take root and reach for the sky.

This week flew by.

The streak of great, sunny, and warm weather seems to have cursed us here in The Miami Valley with true late-autumn or winter weather – cold and gray. I really detest the gloomier days without sunlight.

Last afternoon and evening at The Park were still busy despite the train not running due to the rain. The Guests were quite charming and I got to see Mindy Shields Lang for the first time in years, and I got to meet her husband, Kip. What a super surprise!

I got to work with the neatest Volunteer, Joyce Ellison, and it was such an immediate connection to her. Joyce is a fellow Hoosier and a graduate of the former Shortridge High School in Indianapolis. She arrived in the Dayton area for a job in occupational therapy, working with the county’s children’s services, schools, and foster families. We discovered we knew many of the same folks. I hope I have the opportunity to work with Joyce, again, as it made the evening so much more enjoyable.

I keep seeing new and familiar CHRISTMAS VACATION movie memes on social media and I hope there’s a chance to watch the movie at least once this Christmas season. I purchased it for streaming but I am simply too tired to watch much of anything while relaxing. I typically watch it a dozen+ times each year.

It’s time to get myself ready for the afternoon and evening.

Make it a great day!

PHOTO: I’ve missed my work-wife, Edith Deeds, so I stopped to pay her a visit in The Atrium before leaving The Park last evening.

I have grown to love audiobooks and podcasts because they allow me to listen while continuing to work on other items or attending to household tasks. It’s a win-win for me!

I’ve listened to over 60 biographies or other US History items on Audiobooks this past year alone. If there is a topic I am researching, I will purchase the book or acquire it from the library. I like to take notes while turning the pages.

One particular podcast that engaged me for quite some time is AMERICAN PRESIDENTS: TOTALUS RANKIUM. The research and presentation are excellent but the two British gentlemen leading this podcast are absolutely hilarious and though, sometimes bordering the irreverent to some, I am sure, they offer an oft unique observation and interpretation. I am currently on Gerald Ford’s presidency and they will bring it to the current administration.

It was from AMERICAN PRESIDENTS: TOTALUS RANKIUM that introduced me to Professor Greg Jackson and his most incredible, HISTORY THAT DOESN’T SUCK. I listen to at least two or three episodes each day, some get a second listen because they are so fascinating.

One of my most recent listens was about Dayton’s own Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Click on this AMERICAN PRESIDENTS: TOTALUS RANKIUM

Click on this: HISTORY THAT DOESN’T SUCK

Make it a great day!