It started off just fine. Jamie had stayed over after New Years Day and we spent the bulk of Monday, January 2, 2012, together since I was off work. We had a nice lunch of gourmet burgers at Red Robin and then went over to the Regal to see Hugo in 3-D. I liked it quite a bit, but she didn’t care for it. She headed back to her parents house in Cincinnati late that afternoon.

Then it was back to work and the life routine as normal. On Thursday, January 5, I met Mom for lunch at Chick-fil-A and then met Ashleigh and Silas for dinner at E.O. Burgers at the Greene. Chris was still in town from the holidays and he stopped by that night for a visit and we explored my iTunes library and watched most of Block-Heads.

Silas-boy ready for his burgers

On second thought, he can’t wait for the burgers. He goes right for our number.

Friday, January 6, saw the departure of the Administrative Support Person in our department at work. Willie had been with the company for nearly 35 years. We had an array of snacks to celebrate her retirement and we went out for a nice lunch at O’Charley’s. She was a very nice lady and I’ll miss having her around.

Saying farewell to Willie

Our department photo: Willie, Garry, Debbie, me, Mel, Shane, Josh, and Roger

Willie’s retirement lunch at O’Charley’s

That evening, I made a welcome return to Findlay to spend the weekend with Jamie. We grabbed some Chipotle for dinner that night and watched High School U.S.A. at her apartment. On Saturday the 7th, we got some breakfast and hot drinks at Tim Horton’s and then spend a few hours at her office at the college. It was a relaxing afternoon as she did some work for school and I read Wild at Heart and helped her with her lesson plan. We had a nice Chinese dinner at the Royal Buffet, and then had a bit of a Friends marathon back at her place.

On Sunday, we went to church at Unity for another hugely rousing service. After church, we went back to the apartment and ordered a delicious Joey Fratello’s pizza and continued watching Friends. I had really enjoyed a great weekend, but clearly there was something indefinable that was wrong again. But we pressed on.

As has become the standard for January, something at the house ‘broke’ once again. On Monday the 9th, I came home from work to find no heat in the house. Thank goodness for that mild weather I spoke of. The next morning, I had Airtron come and fix it for a mere $232 to replace the hot surface ignitor.

The next weekend saw the first snow and almost nixed the plans that Jamie and I had for the weekend, but in the end I got to spend even more time with her than planned as she came down on Saturday evening. I had lunch with Dean at Chick-fil-A that afternoon and showed him a photo book that I had created for Jamie on Snapfish. I met Jamie at my house and we perused the book – her ‘surprise’ and she loved it. We had a fun evening shopping at Toys ‘R’ Us, where we picked up a birthday gift for Megan and a puzzle for ourselves. We had a very nice time over dinner and drinks at The Pub and then went back to my house to work on the puzzle by and watch Friends.

The puzzle that we never solved

On Sunday, January 15, Megan turned three years old. Mom and Bob picked up Jamie and me in their new van and we headed to Westerville for her big party. We had pizza, snacks, soda, and cake with all of Megan’s grandparents, as well as Aaron’s sister Maura and her husband Micah, and their kids Jackson, Ethan, and Clara. Several of Denise’s friends with kids who were Megan’s age stopped by to visit as well.

Megan got a slew of gifts, which made the whole affair look like Christmas for her. I gave her an electronic drum set which she seemed to like quite well. We left in the late afternoon and Mom & Bob dropped Jamie and me off at my place. We continued working on our puzzle and watched the movie Terri, which Jamie had rented and brought over.

Megan and the endless parade of loot

Diggin’ in

Adam and Auggie did everything possible to volunteer their assistance at opening gifts

Megan and the electronic drum kit I gave her

Megan tries on one of the many princess dresses that she received

Playing with the drum kit…

…and offering me a turn

Let’s try this thing together!

Megan’s cake. Pink was her choice.

Woofing the candles. Eventually she got ‘em.

Jamie works off the pizza and cake with some jump roping in the living room

Candid cuteness

One way to skin a cat

The last time I saw Jamie in person was the following Monday morning when whe left to head back to Findaly. But we did have a ‘Skype’ date on Wednesday, January 18. We ate popcorn and simultaniously watched Back to the Future Part 2.

The snows came again on Thursday, January 19. Ashleigh and Silas met me that evening at BW3′s and for the first time of the year, the roads actually got a little bit bad. We had a nice meal of boneless chicken wings and Silas was naturally as cute as ever.

Shovel in them morsels!

Hi

Pretty ones

This boy can stand with the best of them

My boy

I spend that following weekend alone watching lots and lots of movies and looking at the snow outside. I didn’t talk to Jamie until Sunday evening at which time we decided to break-up again. Sigh. Enough of that.

I was mopey for most of the week continuing on with some movie watching – which during the month included the Oscar nominees of 1982 and 1997, and Smallville. Earlier in the month I had been watching some Wonder Years and WKRP in Cincinnati. I also discovered Pinterest online this month and added KISS, Feist, and Blue October to my music listening agenda.

On Thursday, January 26, I met Mom at Chick-fil-A. On Friday, I had drinks with Shelly at BJ’s after work. And on Saturday, Ashleigh and Silas came over and we ordered Donato’s pizza and watched 30 Rock. With friends and family such at these people, I have quickly affirmed that life is indeed good and regardless of whether Janaury was good, bad, or simply mild, I’m going to make the most of this year… just like always before.

2012 will continue in February…

The biggest (not size-wise, but in level of importance to my specific memories) was Greg “The Hammer” Valentine. He was the son of famous wrestler Johnny Valentine, and was a no-nonsense pug-faced wrestler who wrestled both in the NWA and the WWF during my first go-around as a wrestling fan. I think I remember him best during his early days in the WWF when matches from Madison Square Garden would occasionally be broadcast in their entirety. When I asked him to add “The Hammer” to his signature, he told me that he already had.

Brutus Beefcake came around at about the same time period and teamed with Greg Valentine for a while. He was known as “The Barber” because he cut the hair off of Adrian Adonis in the ring, after a defeat by Roddy Piper. I don’t remember him well, but his name was certainly familiar to me.

I planned to only pick up signed photos from these two, and each attempted to charge me for pictures with them, but I worked in free photo ops into our deal. I got the feeling that the wrestlers were located in a bit of an out-of-the-way location amongst the non-celebrity dealers and they weren’t doing too much business. The photo ops were my favorite parts of the encounter, as I had them pose in the ‘attacking/cutting my hair’ fashion, and then in ‘friendly’ fashion.

Foes

Friends (I know. It’s hard to tell the difference)

The Barber simulates a hair cut

Pals afterall

There was a third wrestler sitting with them named Andrew Anderson. I had never heard of this gentleman, who is exactly 20 days younger than me – but he was bound and determine that I wasn’t going to leave the wrestlers table and purchase something from everyone but him. We bantered back and forth for a bit. And finally I agreed to pay $10 for a signed photo and a picture with him.

Two things clinched this decision – one being that he was part of the ‘Anderson’ legacy, being Ole Anderson’s real-life (he claims) nephew (unlike the fictitious nephew Arn Anderson and brother Gene Anderson, who weren’t related in any way). He said that Ole didn’t want him to enter wrestling, but he did anyway, and eventually adopted the made-up name.

Andrew Anderson in The Wrestler

The other clincher was that Andrew appeared in the acclaimed Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler as The Anvil, and from the point that he mentioned this, all I heard from him, Greg Valentine, and especially Brutus Beefcake was trash-talk about Mickey Rourke. It was awesome. I felt like Vince McMahon or Gordon Solie doing a wrestling interview.

Meeting Andrew Anderson, a talkative and really nice guy – as the photo indicates

As long as the wrestlers keep showing up, I’ll keep giving them business. They’re a unique bunch who combine athleticism with over-the-top comic acting.

Celebrities of the Spring 2011 Chiller Theatre Show will continue…

For starters, Sherry joined the cast of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1956. Those conducting the auditioning found her lisp to be very funny, and she was assigned to the (second tier) Blue Team. After her stint on that show, she went on to appear in Dance with Me, Henry, which happened to be Abbott and Costello’s last film. She would make appearances in many sitcoms of the 1960s including Family Affair, My Three Sons, and The Monkees.

Sherry had photos for sale from both of these works, so I made her one of my standard offers: two photos for $30. She gladly accepted the offer and willingly posed for a picture with me.

Even if I hadn’t known her for the ‘key’ work she was there for, I am still grateful for the chance to have a brush with Sherry Alberoni – and add signed photos to my Abbott and Costello collection and Mousketeer collection.

Celebrities of the Winter 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…

Naturally, it is an older woman (specifically Shelagh Fraser), who plays her in the first film. In the two prequels, she is played by Bonnie Piesse. I got the chance to meet her at the Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago when she appeared there on Saturday, August 13, 2011.

I wasn’t clamoring to pay the $25 for an autographed photo, plus an additional $5, for a photo with her, since her character was so minor. I did try to talk her out of the photo op fee, but in the end – since we were dealing with the Star Wars canon - I made the purchase at full price. It was probably my least impressive encounter of the day, but I’m sure one day I’ll be glad that I got everyone from the films that I could.

Celebrities of the 2011 Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago will continue…

But Marli Renfro can. She was the body double for Janet Leigh, who was never nude during the filming. Even her scenes are subject to debate, but for the most part, anytime you’re not clearly seeing Janet Leigh’s face, you’re seeing Marli Renfro, who was a model, actress, and showgirl. She also appeared on the cover of the September 1960 issue of Playboy.

Because of my love for Hitchcock and Psycho, I simply had to purchase an autograph when she made an appearance at the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011. She was a nice lady and had been the subject of the book The Girl in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shower. I opted not to purchase this but a pseudo-lobby card from the film, showcasing the famous knife going into the famous belly.

Although she suggested writing the title of the book instead, I had her inscribe the photo with “Marion Crane’s belly”.

Celebrity encounters of the Fall 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…