Solo Soul

I've been playing in bands since I was 14 yrs old but I've never done a stand alone solo gig. I'm about to turn 50 and I've set a goal for myself to perform a solo gig before 2006 is over somewhere along U.S. 50. I'm in the process of learning at least sixty great songs. I'm very exited about this. Some of the songs I'm currently working on are the following:

1. Fishin' Blues
2. Home Grown Tomatoes
3. Wild Horses
4. Face On the Cutting Room Floor
5. Easy Chair

CCX Jacket

It's not really about the jacket, it's about simple things. I find pleasure in things like a good book, a good pocket knife ... or a warm coat. I found the CCX jacket at the local thrift store and it is the perfect jacket. It's blue denim with cream colored sleeves. I've since found another denim jacket with hunter green sleeves. I also have a great Carhart jacket, also hunter green, very warm and very durable. Only the CCX jacket is referred to Jan and I as "the Jacket" though. It has CCX on the left front and it stands for a trucking company. As you can see I'm easily pleased. That's a good thing.

Sharon Woods

As I mentioned in the "Colonial Gardens" post, I like where I live. I have a 730 acre back yard called Sharon Woods. It was the first park created by the Hamilton County Park District and was first opened to the public in 1932. Every day that time allows, Jan (my wife) and I walk out the door, down the sidewalk, into the park, down the gorge trail, and around the lake and back which amounts to a five mile walk. This is part of the reason we're both in such good shape. The park is well designed. All of the man made conveniences blend into the environment making every step of the way a pleasant experience. Every bend of the trail reveals either a sublime or subtle view. I am grateful for many things and one of the things I am most grateful for is Sharon Woods which is truly one of life's simple pleasures. Jan and I have been working on being more positive and there is no better place to do that than Sharon Woods.

Good Books

There's something about a good book. There are a few books I have found along life's way that sparked my imagination in a way that influenced my life in a positive way.

The Marvelous Adventures of Alvin Fernald - This one was featured in our third grade reading book and my teacher noticed how enthralled I was with the story and made a big deal of saying in front of the class that I seemed to be alot like Alvin and asked me if I invented things. Loving the attention, I lied that I did and spent the rest of the school year trying to invent things and live up to my new found reputation as boy inventor. I was delighted to find there was a whole book of Alvin Fernald's adventures offered by Schoolastic Books, a company that you could order from periodically through the teacher and it was my Bible until fourth grade when I got ...

The Mad Scientists Club - A whole pack of boy inventor/scientists who had access to things I could only dream of like army surplus equipment but it didn't stop me from at least planning and dreaming of having the kind of adventures and capers they had.

Huckleberry Finn - We had to read this one in the sixth grade and by the time we were through with it, my cousin Hayden and I had serious plans of taking a raft or canoe on an amazing river adventure as soon as we were old enough.

The Forum Quorum - I'm not sure if this was the actual title of the book, but it was a "how to" guide on starting a rock group and it took a group of boys from naming the group, buying their instruments, getting a manager, cutting a record etc. right to the point where they performed on The Mike Douglas Show. The boy bass player got a Hofner Beatle Bass just like Paul McCartney's and I coveted that bass for years until I got one.

The Beatles by Hunter Davies - I checked this one out of the library at least once a year from the time I was in the seventh grade until the summer between tenth and eleventh grade when I hitched a ride into Hamilton along with my cousins Hayden and Charlie with the express mission of buying a pair of bell-bottom jeans and checking out the book which I did. We hitched a ride home and realized after it was too late that I'd left the book and the jeans in the car.

The Holy Bible - I've read the Bible from cover to cover a few times and studied it in Bible college. I need to read it and study it again.

Highway 50 Ain't that America - by a small town newspaper editor who lived in Ocean City Maryland where US 50 begins. Realizing that he needed a change in his life, he took his savings out of the bank, quit his job and spent two years taking US 50 all the way across the country to Sacramento California where it ends. The cool part is that he takes an old Ford LTD that has mechanical problems and takes on jobs along the way and gets to know people through the heart of America's back road. I turn 50 this year and plan on taking a US 50 coming of age trip along as much of it as I can in one week. As you can see, my taste in books and adventure have really never changed. I'm the same person I was in the third grade. Hmm.

Backroads Vacation - US 62

Hello all. Just a short review of our quirky backroad vacation on US 62. Since I've started a new job this year there wasn't time to travel the whole route so we just started in Cincinnati and took it to upstate New York. Our first stop was to eat in Alliance, Ohio at the Waaa Daaa Hot Dog place, famous for the giant hot dog on it's roof we learned about from the Roadside Attractions website. We had the 1/4 lb Cajun Hotdog w/ onion rings and they were out of this world. I drew alot of attention (mostly smiles) from the staff due to my picture taking and obvious over exitement at the wall paper with it's US 62 sign pictures along with old drive ins, classic cars and other bits of Americana - very cool. I expect I'll win the monthly drawing for the Waaa Daaa tee-shirt with my gushing review on the customer review slip I filled out. From there we traveled onto Salem, Ohio near the PA border where we pitched a tent at the Chaparral Family Campground for a pleasent nights sleep so as not to miss the scenic PA segment of our trip. US 62 runs for a spell with US 6, which is listed by Harley Davidson Co. as one of the top 10 highways to travel and for good reason. The scenery alone was the reason there was never a dull moment on this short trip. Near Jamestown NY we hopped onto I-86 and on to Allegany State Park where we spent the remainder of the week just lazing around in a rented cabin. We visited the Zippo/ Case Museum in Bradford, PA and the Kinzua Dam. We decided to save the Luci-Desi Museum for next year.

U.S. 62

Jan and I will be travelling up U.S. 62 from Cincinnati to Jamestown, NY for our vacation. One of the highlights will be the stop in Alliance, Ohio for a hot dog at a shop that has a giant hot dog on it's roof. That should give you an idea of what this trip is all about. We'll camp at nightfall at a family campground in Salem, Ohio so as not to miss the Pennsylvania scenic route portion of our journey. We also plan on checking out the Luci-Dezi museum in Jamestown and the Zippo Lighter/ Case Knife Museum in Bradford Pa. We'll spend most of out time in a cabin at Alleghaney State Park hiking, napping, pickin' and grinnin'.

Colonial Gardens

I love where I live. I lived for 13 years in my own home and have fond memories of living at the end of a country lane within one minute of a modern shopping district. I had an acre of land and a garden. Visitors often marvelled at how peaceful and quiet it was there. The house was not without its headaches though. When the roof got bad I had to put on a roof. When the furnace died I had to replace it. It was the same with the water heater. In the summer I could stand on the back porch and watch the grass grow. Cutting the grass was often a two day job. Now I sit on my balcony and watch the maintenance guys cut the grass. My apartment sits next to a beautiful county park which gives me one of the largest back yards ever and I never have to cut the grass. Whenever I have a leaky faucet I just call the manager and she sends a guy over. The apartment complex is five buildings sitting in an open box formation with the open end facing the county park. There is a court yard in the middle with a swimming pool. It reminds me of a college campus. We also have a laundrey. I live within walking distance of work. On top of all of this, the apartments are very affordable.