June 26, 2011

In the three weeks since my last post June has come and nearly gone.  Spencer had a week of Kids In College from the 13th to the 17th. His choice in classes were Crime Scene Investigator (Junior sleuthing) and Advanced Cartooning; they didn't offer Lego for the Academically Advanced(which he could teach).  Speaking of academics, in his last nine weeks he slipped up getting a "C" in math, knocking his grades down from high honor roll to honor roll. and most importantly shooting (pun intended) his chance to pick out a youth shotgun.  We are looking at pogo sticks as a consolation prize instead. Last week he attended The Presbyterian Church Day Camp instead of going to swimming classes. I may write of our last day's experience there when I can control my angst about the event.
Being an old dad among young parents can sometimes be VERY trying.

Preston has been able to "chat" on Facebook® with me several times this month.  He is experiencing the tedium of the life of an Army XO.  Add to that the harsh climate of Southeast Afghanistan and other stresses of putting your men in harm's way and well, let me just say it seems to be a "maturing" experience.  We talked on the phone on Father's Day.  I was working in the squad when I received a couple of garbled calls before one set in and we could talk.  I am thankful for being able to communicate with him and for his continued good health and safety.

I did get to spend one whole day, June 14th, chasing down a salvage title for the '02 Jetta Wagon that Colleen had totalled in November.  I say chasing it down because I had to climb into that wormhole that begins the labyrinth of the Ohio State Highway Patrols' bureaucracy.  I scheduled this appointment nearly six weeks earlier ( a true harbinger of the ordeal, which went unnoticed).  Two trips to Southern Jackson County to the OSP Inspector's Station was enough to convince me of their ineptitude and inefficiency.  I had to mention their "District Organizational" goals as posted on the drab prison-like wall...  "We will strive to serve the driving public....blah, blah, blah"  just to get the Inspector to think that it would be unreasonable for me to go home (yet again) and mail to him an original bill of sale for repair parts, which I HAD IN MY HAND in front of him!  That was just one issue after making two trips down there because nowhere on the web site, nor mailed, nor verbal instructions in the two phone conversations was it mentioned that I needed "original" as in non-faxed copies for the two parts that we used to repair the car.
It didn't help my cause in that I had not slept at work the night before, but I digress.

It was interesting to me that this whole inspection process had nothing to do with safety or drivability of a previously totaled auto... it was for stolen parts!! They spent nearly an hour checking out imprinted serial numbers on random parts throughout the car looking for black market parts.  Oh!... We owners aren't allowed to view the process as we shouldn't know which parts are marked by the OEM for identification.  I would bet a lot of money that, maybe just maybe, those who profit from this black market trade already know which parts to alter/mask/obfuscate from the inspectors' technicians' prying tools, vibrating hand sanders and spinning grinding wheels.
After six hours at this Sisyphean task I walked out of Herr Inspecktor's office with the paperwork that allowed me to enter the Ross County Title Bureau to procure a Repair Salvage Title for the car.  Just around the corner I got tags and called USAA to insure the newly titled and tagged car.
The speed at which I was able to do these last things made my sleepless head spin with the wonderful efficiency of my hometown county offices and USAA's online customer
services.

V P in the church after Poopa's services.

Tyler and friend Geoff in Kingston

Daughter-in-law Jen lost her father, Dave, to cancer just after his 69th birthday.  Scott Zinn and I traveled to northeast Ohio for the funeral on the 15th.  The service was touching, generally light and special.  I enjoyed seeing the other family that Vera Paisley also has away from us and ours.  Tyler has been building his bicycling miles at home and has come down twice to ride with the Roadies, on the 18th and again yesterday.  His job search continues and the subsequent wind down of Greenovate® looms in the distance.  With luck we will see him employed and productive in the sustainability field soon.

Sdad, Cydaa and Park at the Cabin

Parker visited from the 16th to the 19th.   He used the trip to continue his video portfolio of the local band "The Lewis Brothers".   It was good to spend some time with him and his traveling companion, Ceyda.  We enjoyed their company on  Friday Afternoon at the Cabin with family and friends.  He also took the time to visit with his Grandparents Friedman and with Uncle Al and Aunt Gretta.  His drive home to Brooklyn included a stop for more filming of a North Coast falconer, the start of which he teased us earlier in the year with a clip on Facebook®.

Chickens at the Cabin garden

On the home front,  with Spencer's help I moved the chickens out to the Creek last weekend.  The finished coop/tractor is functioning well and I am able to drag it either by hand or vehicle to various spots throughout the field near the cabin.  They still are productive with 5 eggs daily.   In the nature of a cautionary note: the eagles and hawks are very active in the skies as evidenced on a Paint Creek kayaking trip with sister-in-law Connie on the summer solstice.  We saw two pair of mature Balds and one fledgling along with several Red Tails.  Yesterday on the Roadies' Bologna trip to Laurelville and back, just outside of Tar Hollow Sate Park, we encountered a single chicken leg laying square  in the middle of Charleston Pike; about half a mile onward was a very large Red Tail hunting, calling, circling over a field.  Apparently the chicken dinner wasn't enough to sate his appetite!  Unlike my last flock of chickens, these will only be allowed out of the tractor when I am present and alert for raptors.  The Cabin garden grows well except for the invading rabbits (Raptors: Eat them instead of my birds!).  I secured the garden plot with chicken wire around the fencing.

In my last May post I neglected to include an event on a bike ride following our return from the Little Miami camping trip.  On the regular Roadies' Sunday ride we were joined by my old friend Randy Swepston.  As an update, Randy and I met at OU-C as Freshmen and continued a friendship as he went on to THE Ohio State University and I to THE Miami.  We rode TORSRV together in 1970, as I mentioned in my May 15th post.
Randy has since moved to Northern Ohio, working in custom farming practices with his ag background.  He is still an able athlete and has passed on that trait to his two sons; Ian was just commissioned as a Infantry Ranger 2nd LT in the Ohio National Guard and will be in A-stan by January. All three run and ride together at home.  Again, I digress.

Randy nearing Adelphia

On May 15th we were flying in a group of six riders at about 24-25 mph on Westfall Road ten miles NW of town when I jumped to catch the wheel of a passing Dave Pigott and wife Jo on their tandem.  Randy and I crossed wheels (his front/my rear) causing us both to wobble dangerously. I recovered enough to catch two things happening: at 27 mph, I slipped my chain (from the hit) and in my mirror I saw Randy splay forward, hands first over his laid down bike. Once again, I nearly went down from the lack of torque on the chain-less pedals.  I was already heartsick at the sight of Randy on the pavement behind me.
Those ahead of us had no idea of the mishap; behind, everyone stopped.  Dx:  Road rash abounding,  cut hands (he had forgotten his cycling gloves) along with a bruised and swelling left hip and shoulder.  We all cleaned and patched and pondered our next course, but Randy flatly refused the aide offered by a passing motorist, insisting on pedalling on.
Bleeding and swelling, Randy continued on to Clarksburg Pike where he agreed to pedal back to town with me to cut the ride short.  Pulling against a rare SE headwind we literally limped home where he showered and I further patched him up in the back of a squad at Station 1. We have kept in touch regarding his healing through FB and e-mails.

Yesterday on the Bologna Ride he showed up with his son Ian to ride again!  The second half of the route took us past his boyhood farm home just East of Hallsville.

June 5, 2011

It's hard enough to find the time to write this blog once. This morning, early, I had another post written only to lose it in the Ethernet.  So here goes with a second attempt.

"That one's not a tail-dragger, Dad"

Last week on Memorial Day morning Fred, Mark, Spencer and I made the trip to west of Bainbridge to the grass airfield for the annual Haas' Fly-in Breakfast.  I had been up most of the night Sunday but after a nice smorgasbord breakfast Spencer and I managed to walk the entire flight line and enjoy the old and new flying machines.  He has a pretty good concept of lift, drag, control mechanics, engines and weight conservation.  I just have to get him out to the Ross County airport and up in a CAP plane. His last day of school was Thursday. We are officially on summer schedule now.

Looking East towards Bainbridge

We were on the tandem for a few miles after school on Thursday.  He is improving as a stoker and we should be able to do some road rides soon.  Rainy May allowed me 301 miles in the saddle and 830 for the year so far. Not my best year, but better than 2010.


Work Wednesday started with training in unarmed self defense, concentrating mainly on back of the squad maneuvers.

Happily, the belly award went to the CPD instructor.

The rest of the day was DOAs and codes. Two DOAs were long term undiscovered in the well above normal for June heat (90's).  A shocker happened at the ER when we discovered a working code... our retired CFD Chief David Carnes probably had an AMI while helping his son on a roof in Londonderry.  Dave was a gentleman, Mason, friend and mentor.  I can honestly say that, while we are around death and disaster almost daily; Dave's demise weighed heavily on my heart. His church-filled funeral on Saturday was preceded on Friday night by viewing with formal CFD gasket honor guards and a Masonic service.  Following the funeral we had crossed ladders for the procession  in front of the main (only) station.

Storm line above Adena ER just at sunset.

May ended a little drier than it started. But we are still experiencing pop up thunderstorms in the afternoon.  On Saturday evening we attended an outdoor Mexican fiesta two doors down at the Gillespie's just before a hail and thunderstorm at dark.  The six hens are still in the backyard as I haven't finished the coop/tractor at the cabin yet.  They are content and productive.  They average five eggs a day and six some days.  Interestingly, several neighbors have expressed chicken envy but not so much that they will get their own hens.

Sunday I had planned on biking at one with the Roadie group but was called in for an explosive (hazmat) incident.  Some one had set out a metal

At the put in; pretty tame griffiti, huh?

container of tear gas, grenades and fuses near a trash pile on Mulberry St and CPD noticed it gassing off.  Three hours later, with the Columbus Bomb Squad, I drove the CFD pickup truck into the city park annex for disposal by fire in a pit.

Zack and Fire Department Josh.

Later in the day, Spencer and I did get to put the kayaks into Rocky Fork Creek at Barrett's Mill with two co-workers; Josh and son Nate, Christy and her fiance´ Zack. This was Spencer's first solo and he did very well.  After two hours of beautiful paddling Nate, a ninth grader, and Spencer  put out at the Rt 50 bridge so that the adults could finish the float with a run through the chutes of Paint Creek at Falls Rd.  The other three adults had never done them.  The water in the chute appeared to be about Class 3, a little too daring for the kids. Just below the confluence of Rocky Fork (of Paint Creek) Paint narrows into a gorge about 1/4 mile long.  As we entered the gorge the thunder we had been hearing all afternoon now added an ominous lightning flash just over our shoulders.    I guided the others through finishing by"showing" them how to swamp your boat while surfing the last standing wave and riding out the end of the run under water.

Christy and Zack at Barrett's Mill Dam.

The rain held off until we had the cars ferried and the boats tied on top.

Coop/tractor in progress.

Today Spencer and I worked on the sidewalks in front of the Temple until about eleven when the temps grew too high for that work.  After moving desks and office spaces around, we finished off around 1230 and came home .  He stayed at Connie Meyer's and I went out to the cabin for more work on the coop/chicken tractor and finishing touches on the mower deck repair to the '74 Cub Cadet.  I didn't get to jump in the creek as planned since it was nearly seven before I got home.