fall, that fleeting blur of color on the way to something else

If autumn would hang around and just be like it was this past weekend, all would be well. But we know what follows, which makes it all the more precious, and we watch the leaves fall like sand in the hourglass (sounds like an old soap, dunnit?). It's not "peak color" around here yet, but it is getting close. We had a chance to get out in the weather and the leaves on Saturday. Then on Sunday we drove down to Columbus to see (a) an old college friend; (b) our son, hanging out with us at a coffee shop; (c) a friend who had some furniture she wanted to part with, and which our daughter could use; and (d) Linda's mom, on the way home. Pretty good, jam-packed itenerary. The sunset on the way home as we traveled up Route 23 was spectacular; the camera only caught a portion of the entire show.
Before we took in all this autumnal beauty, Linda did her annual gig giving away books at a "fall fun fair" put on by our County Soil and Water Conservation Service. The book give-away was courtesy of a thing called "First Book", which strives to put books into the hands of kids, many of whom I suspect may not have any otherwise. A sad comment, but I would bank on it being true in many cases.

Oh, and there was a petting zoo. With a llama. And a horse-drawn wagon side.
I hope you are enjoying your fall - while you can!!!

If You Have To Be At A Work-Related Training Event All Weekend...

...you can hope it is at a place like the one I just spent my last weekend, from Friday at dinner time until Monday at noon. The venue was the 2,500 acre home base of the Edward Lowe Foundation near Cassopolis, Michigan. Evidently Mr. Lowe made a significant pile of money in his time, and generously spent it developing this treasure. It seems he was the inventor of Kitty Litter, and there was big money resulting from purveying the stuff to the world's cat owners.

The sleeping accommodations are a little off the beaten track. Boxcars. But cleverly converted ones, each able to sleep eight, with a nice bathroom and a central sitting room. I guess the designing hand of Mr. and Mrs. Lowe are all over the place. Here are the boxcars, inside and out.


There was a nice fire pit in the middle of the boxcars, and those in charge had a nice fire going every night I was there. The first night involved making s'mores.

On the way from the boxcars to the conference building is Billieville, a simulation of a small downtown from the turn of the century. I guess Mrs. Lowe's middle name is Billie... This is what Billieville looks like.

Then there is the "cabin" that overlooks a valley and pond. I could happily spend a week here with binoculars, enough books, and it wouldn't hurt to have the food service that spoiled us this weekend...


The foundation is serious about good environmental practices, and their 2,500 acres and its plant and animal inhabitants are well cared for. They follow several best practices in maintaining the environmental integrity, and I only wish I had more time to explore the place.

That last picture is for my sis.

Another Circle Closing

You have probably heard about how Glen Campbell recently made public that he has been diagnosed as being in early stage Alzheimer's. As a result, he has released a "final" studio album, depicted above, and is embarking on what is likely to be a final tour.

Glen is one of those icons of my youth. He was pounding out the hits, several of which were artfully penned by Jimmy Webb, who was one of those 60's "hit factories". I can still recall Glen's boisterous intro to his variety TV show: "Hello, I'm Glen Campbell and this is the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour!!!"

His voice was eminently distinguishable - and still is. I just sampled the new album, "Ghost on the Canvas", and it is unmistakable Glen (and on a few tracks, if I am on target here, unmistakable Jimmy Webb, too.)

It is interesting watching the lauded artists of my youth aging. It is amazing how many are still hanging in there. for example, 69-year-old Paul Simon put out a wonderful collection of songs last spring, and rendered an unforgettable, solemn reading of "The Sound of Silence" in his beloved NYC on 9/11.

It is also sad when one of my favorites is struck down. I saw a piece with Glen and his wife on TV not long ago and his memory was definitely challenged while he tried to remember events from his past, words from his songs... But I give him high marks for taking it on the road one more time. And, even when he is forced to retire, with the collection of hits he has in the hopper, his voice will be aired on Oldies Radio for decades to come, evoking pleasant memories of his mention of places like Wichita, Galveston, Phoenix...

Comic Animal Relief

Wow. The east coast is taking intermission between the 5.9 temblor and the imminent Irene. Back here in the "peaceful" midwest, we had our own fun with a little event I like to call midnight tree topping. It seems a cool front packed a 70 mph wind burst punch and took out trees all over the west end of one town near here. In fact, we got to awaken around 1:30 to two ominous things: blinking lights from police cars and the sound of a chain saw. It seems a good portion of a neighbor's tree crashed down on the street and stopped traffic. The good news is there is basically NO TRAFFIC on our street at 1:30 a.m.

Anyhow, between that and the roller coaster ride our economy is taking, and the seesaw ride our national politics is taking, and all the rest of the drama and uncertainty, as a public service to you, the reader (and at this point, this blog may just be speaking to you, yeah, YOU, as "the reader"), we bring you some photos taken a handful of weeks back when, while on vacation, we again visited the African Wildlife Safari. Longtime readers of this site will recall previous such photo collections. Those who know their animals will wonder why the place is billed exclusively as "African".

Anyhow, here they are, providing you with some escape from the worries of the day.

The End

An Evening's Escape: Lakeside

There's probably some neat name for this pavilion.
I don't know it, but I like the thing.

Still trying to keep the vacation vibe going, we escaped to nearby (45 minutes) Lakeside last evening. We had gotten some tickets to a concert up there, and took advantage of the opportunity.

Lakeside is this self-contained community, full of cottages and happy families. It is a "Chautauqua" community, based on the adult education, culture, and spiritual blend of the daddy of them all, Lake Chautauqua, NY. So, in other words, there is stuff going on all the time.

Last night was this performance by the Lakeside Orchestra, which a friend informs me is actually a decent group - lots of summering musicians from the likes of the Columbus and Cleveland Symphonies. So they know their scales.

The Lakeside Orchestra takes the stage.

It was a relatively light, "pops" type show - a history of Broadway tunes and such. But the music director - conductor tossed in a lot of history and made it interesting. It was a good show.

Just being in Lakeside for a while is quite entertaining. There are blocks and blocks of well-kept cottages. A central business district where we ate dinner on a patio. The historic Hotel Lakeside. I believe the rooms still do not have televisions - bravo to that, as it seems true to the spirit of the place. And then the waterfront.

The historic Hotel Lakeside. Or is it Lakeside Hotel?

There is a slow pace at Lakeside. I believe I could pass a whole summer there, reading books, hitting the various lectures and movies and concerts, meeting some people and maybe challenging them to a game of shuffleboard (a big hit at Lakeside - which tells you something about priorities and, to an extent, demographics - although there were a lot of young families on the streets.) Even pretending I was on set for an episode of the old Patrick McGoohan series, one of my favorites ever, "The Prisoner". (You'd have to know the show to get the connection.)

Out on the pier, enjoying a warm Friday evening.

There was a sort of funny out-of-context moment for me as I looked around at the greying crowd settling in for the concert, then noted that the very next night, the featured act was the band, "Starship", which you may know evolved from its interplanetary origins back in the 60's as Jefferson Airplane. Now, none of the original Airplane members are still on board the starship. Grace Slick, Jack Cassidy, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, and various vintage others have all moved on. And under the new ownership, the Starship is more prone to love ballads and such, as opposed to preaching revolution and alluding to Alice in Wonderland psychedelia. But at first, the concept amused me. Then it dawned on me that many of these "senior citizens" surrounding me were likely in their 20's and 30's when the Airplane took off, and could probably recite some Airplane hits. Hmm.

All in all, a wonderful escape for a Friday evening, and a third chance within a one-week span to enjoy one of the Great Lakes.

Well-kept properties in the high-rent district (good view of the lake, park, etc.)

If I were around for another day, I'd have one of those boats out on the water.

A Week at the Beach

A week away in mid-summer does good things for your mind and soul. Our family is not known for just going somewhere for a whole week and staying put. Our vacations are typically more like that of Bedouins - on the move, pulling up the proverbial tent pegs every morning and moving on to the next encampment (or actually, hotel or lodge. We are not much for actual camping.)

So this was an oddity - a cottage surrounded pretty much by water. The water was not of a super- exotic sort, being Lake Erie, but it was warm and wet and just fine. Where we stayed, we could open a window and just listen to the gentle waves lapping at the shore. I love that sound. I need a tape loop that endlessly makes that sound. Actually, somewhere, I have some electric device that makes "nature sounds" at the push of a button - babbling brook, waves and seagulls, and so on. But it is not the same as the real deal, with the random seagull squawk tossed in intermittently.

The kids were able to join us for a couple days and I am not sure if there is anything finer for the "empty nester" than a period of time when the old family unit (plus son in law - in the new, expanded family unit) is back together, having fun.

I took a few hundred pictures last week, and will only bore anyone coming across this post with a choice few. But the highlight of the whole week, for me, was a simple little activity. Ever since our daughter saw the movie, Tangled, she was enthralled with the music and the scene where hundreds of sky lanterns are released to the sky. Linda got her one of those lanterns for her birthday, and on the last night where everyone was together, we released the lantern. I had approached the thing with trepidation, envisioning the lantern setting down in some super-dry corn field and setting the thing ablaze.

Despite my misgivings, our son, William, lit the fuel pack on the bottom after several matches were blown out in the beach breeze. We all huddled together against the breeze to help with the ignition, and finally it was lit. Then the "kids" held the inflatable bag vertically to fill with hot air. It slowly and partially filled, and our son coaxed it down onto the beach, then up and over the jetty, and finally it made its way up into the atmosphere. My fears were allayed as the lantern soared up over the water in an odd, northwesterly direction, toward Michigan. Meanwhile, our son in law played the Tangled theme song on his iPod to complete the experience. It was quite a scene as we stood there, awed as the sky lantern climbed toward the heavens. I cannot explain it, but those five or six minutes were powerful for me, and not necessarily due to any Disney tie-ins. Just one of those Dad moments, if there are such things?

The other hugely impressive feature for me was the nightly show the sun and clouds put on as the sun set over some far-away trees on a distant shore. I try to limit the use of the word "awesome", but I am busting it out big time in this case - The sunsets were AWESOME.

Anyhow, without any further ado...

Sun setting on the first night.

We got a laugh out of how the seagulls lined up on shore,
respecting the personal space of each bird up and down the shore.

Our buddy, Boomerang (as my wife called him, because he kept coming back). This jetty was his base of operations. He would launch his daily fishing operations from here.

Here he is, initiating a fishing expedition.

A look down the beach.

Ho, hum, another day, another sunset. (Actually, I could never tire of these!)

The side trip to our old fave, the African Wildlife Safari Park, is worth a post of its own, so this will be the only picture from that trip in this post. Anyhow, here is what they bill as the largest rodent there is. Know the name of this particular specimen? Want one for a pet?

Launching the sky lantern.

...and there she goes.
Another family enjoying their day at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Are they tourists, or are they one of the attractions, eh? I am not sure.

...and one last sunset.

Sidebar: I've been back at work two days now and, I've got to say, as I review these pictures and remember those gentle, lapping waves, I'm ready for a vacation.

People Gathering Together

So "people gathering together" has been an odd theme that has followed me around this summer thus far. There was the sad yet celebratory service remembering the life of Tom Phillips (a previous post), an event that packed the house at the Methodist Church on the order of the prime-time Christmas Eve service. Then there was the Fourth of July, really the only day I know when townfolk of all stripes and clans gather in one place, first along a parade route, and then at the Fairgrounds to watch and hear what modern pyrotechnics has wrought.

Yesterday, we went over to an interesting gathering at the nearby Alphonsus Parish church, where they were having their annual do all over the place. There was a softball tournament going on, and food and drink available everywhere, and games and so on. My wife was most interested in the silent auction, and that took some time for her to make some strategic bids.

Most interesting to me, nestled in among the church and social hall and residences, was a restored log cabin-like structure, dating back to 1878 or something, commemorating the presence of John Neumman, the first American Bishop to be canonized into sainthood (by Pope Paul VI in 1977), reassembled amongst the cornfields of the St. Alphonsus parish. The history of the place and its settlement by German families, with the site selected virtually by accident, was quite interesting to this non-Catholic.

Anyhow, the unimposing log structure is dedicated as a prayer center, and there is a feeling of peace and quiet within its confines. It was well worth the side trip, as well as any money my wife dropped on the silent auction, and it reminded me of how many treasured points of interest there are within easy reach.

In fact, we had intended to make it up to the Village of Milan to possibly take in their museum on Sunday, but I chose to take an extended nap instead, evidently...

Friday presented another very important (in my view) example of people gathering together for a common cause. This was the evening of our community's Relay for Life (and to those reading this who responded to my "annual shameless request", another huge "thank you". As well as an "it's not too late..." aside...) This event, the eighth or so that we have attended, never fails to move me, with its spirit of hope and happiness, despite the time taken to remember those who fell to cancer in recent memory.

For those who have never attended, Relay for Life is a good time! There are sights, sounds, food, camaraderie, and that pervasive feel that money is being rounded up to fight one of the most important battles on Earth. A couple years ago, I always made the point of sticking around and staying all night with my son and, usually, a coterie of his friends. He has moved on and is no longer so readily available, and I miss those woozy three o'clock frisbee tosses and four o'clock poker runs around the track. OK, I do not miss the runs around the track so much. Perhaps I miss the ability to survive multiple laps with minimal damage.

The "survivor lap" - applause all the way around.

Anyhow, Linda and I head home around midnight now, once our team has sold our last hot dog and the last ice cream sundae, and the bounce house has been deflated, and the team's tent battened down for the night. It's not quite the same as making it all night until breakfast burrito time time at six, but on the other hand, any feeling of sad nostalgia is usually overcome by the soft bed and central air that greets us at home.

The next gathering on the docket is a couple days with friends from Linda's college years and assorted others - a group that has managed to get together somewhere in Ohio or Michigan on a nearly monthly basis since 1977 (well, actually before that, but that was the year I entered the picture). I guess this gathering together stuff is pretty intrinsic, pretty essential. I think some of the finest things people have done have probably resulted from gathering together for a cause, a purpose, or a desire.

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After the busy-ness of the St. Alphonsus festival, we found the absolute opposite of a gathering in the serenity of our local conservation club last night. The only gathering we found there were a gaggle of seven or eight geese beating a retreat when we showed up on "their" beach. You can just see them in the center, nearly at the trees.

Finally, I liked this picture I took with the cell phone, shooting at the upside-down reflection of trees and clouds in the water. Sort of a Van Gogh-ishness to it, eh?