The Terrible Catsafterme

I have only the most fleeting memory that we went on vacations back-to-back during August of 1981, so fleeting in fact that it would never hold up in court. However, I have one clue that our trip to visit my Mom’s Aunt Louise and Uncle Carroll immediately followed our trip to Detroit for the Classic Chevy Convention. This piece of evidence is a calendar from 1981, with the dates August 2 – August 8 marked as vacation. This was the Chevy Convention week. But the following week, August 9-15, indicates absolutely nothing at all. Every other week of the Summer has other appointments, sporting events, and reminders – but this one has nothing at all. So I’m pegging this trip as August 9-15…give or take a day on either end. Read the rest of this entry »

Having conquered the world of 1949 Hudsons, Dad decided to move on to a much hipper classic hot rod in May of 1981. We had joined the Gem City Classics Classic Chevy Club at the end of 1980, attending the Christmas banquet as our first meeting – and it wasn’t long before Dad got the itch to join the ranks of classic Chevy (defined as 1955, 1956, or 1957) owners. For the tidy sum of $1800 he purchased a 1957 Chevrolet Two Ten, and when winter rolled around again that year, he began restoring it. Read the rest of this entry »

As a kid, entering into Summer was akin to entering into the Christmas season. So I came upon the Summer of 1981 with crashing excitement for the warm days ahead. Mom was still only working three days a week, so I spent most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at Discovery House daycare center on Woodman Drive in Kettering. I’m fairly certain that this was the last time I went here regularly, although Mom seems to think I stayed here until I was 12 years old. This would have been the Summer of 1984 – which I know wasn’t the case, but perhaps I would still attend on occasion during Spring Break or weeks when my other babysitters were unavailable. Read the rest of this entry »

I was very saddened when our cat Charcoal passed away during the Fall of 1977. In an effort to help me recover, my parents decided to get me a brand new kitten – another gray one – for Christmas that year. I first met Charcoal 2 (seen at left in late 1979) when he commenced meowing in the garage during breakfast on Christmas Eve. Read the rest of this entry »

I was a little skeptical about requesting Missy Fodor as a friend on Facebook when I first saw her on there. Afterall, she may have remembered what an upstart and troublemaker I had been at times throughout my formative years at Fairbrook Elementary, Ankeney Junior High, and Beavercreek High School and decided to deny me! We had attended every school year together with the exception of  our senior year at BHS - twelve years in all. So over the years we had crossed paths many times. Read the rest of this entry »