Easter 2007 – and Denise’s Birthday
April 9th, 2007
Easter Sunday fell on April 8th this year – Denise’s birthday. It was the first time since 1928 that this would happen. Remarkably, it will happen again in 2012 – five years from now – but then will never happen again in Denise’s lifetime. So glad I had the chance to share that with y’all. The other strange thing about this Easter was that it was freezing cold outside – literally. There were snow flurries coming down as Ashleigh and I headed out to Darlene and Bob’s in Miamisburg for this year’s gathering. It was just earlier this week that I was taking walks around our neighborhood in shorts and a t-shirt. Only in Ohio could we go from 80 to 18 in less than a week! Read the rest of this entry »
I met Jon Petering shortly after first being hired at the Beavercreek Kroger on May 8, 1989. He had already been there for a couple of years at that point so he was comfortably seated near the top in seniority on the bagger schedule (second only to Ashok Sohal), working Monday thru Friday the 9am – 5pm shift. So during the school year, I usually only ran into him at the end of his shift. It wasn’t long before I took a liking to Jon. He loved to talk and pontificate on any number of subjects – often with brutal honesty and exuberant conviction. All of his revelations generally started with the phrase “Yeah, buddy…” 
Okay, we were in Myrtle Beach…so, now what was there to do? Apparently, sit around and take photos! This was my lazy (well, let’s say, laziest) day of the week. It wasn’t until dinner that I changed out of my pajamas. And I can’t honestly say that I remember even brushing my teeth. So, basically it was a day for sitting around and enjoying the TV. I won’t say ‘peace and quiet’ because we had three little ones around always keeping us on our toes. Mom, Denise, Ashleigh, and Adam (hereafter referred to as My Gang) went off to Barefoot Landing for a few hours while Bev, Karen, Abby, and Andrew (hereafter referred to as The Eds) went outside to play. So that was the cue to pop in some “Family Ties” and “Diff’rent Strokes” TV on DVD. 
This was my second visit with Jack Hanlon – and I have to maintain that he is one of the nicest fellas you could ever hope to meet. Jack was a former child actor who had appeared in at least three of the silent Our Gang films: Ten Years Old, Olympic Games, and The Glorious Fourth. In addition, he had a role in the Buster Keaton classic The General. It was just over five years ago that Jack’s nephew contacted Bob and they arranged a meeting for the first time. 
I remarked at the last campfire that this was my final year at camp – and rather than going out with a ‘bang,’ I went out with a ‘nice quiet week.’ I’m not sure why this was, but I’m sure it had something to do with the fact that I had aged – so to speak – several years once I became a father, and was facing the future of ‘adulthood’ head on. Also, I recall that there were only two groups at camp and smaller somtimes meant less. This was my tenth and final year at Camp Woodland Altars, having consecutively attended every year since the Summer before fourth grade.