LOCAL CIVIL WAR HISTORY

The program for July at the Fayette County Historical Society Museum was the Civil War.

I went to the program on July 5th when Bob Davis portrayed Governor William Dennison, a governor of Ohio during the Civil War. He talked about his term as governor and the hardships of the war for Ohioans.

The Henry Casey Camp #92 of The Sons of Union Veterans held an encampment and showed rifle salutes.

A tour of the museum display of Civil War memorabilia followed the presentation.

On July 26th the museum program was a patriotic flag tribute and a short history of the Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln portrayed by Victor Pontius.

While Ed Helt read the description/meaning of the 13 folds of a flag at a military funeral for presentation to the family, a flag was folded for the attendees.

After the presentation, the Honor Guard played taps and then gave a 21 gun salute.

LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

This is one of the best things I've seen lately. A three-year old boy plays the drums with an orchestra and doesn't miss a beat playing Orpheus in the Underworld. He got his solo when the song ended and the orchestra stopped playing, but he kept playing.

UNPREDICTABLE

Some people are so unpredictable, like life.

A woman in Wilmington moved to a senior apartment complex and could not keep her two year old dog. She advertised to find a home for him.

After an interview process by the owner to find just the right home, my friend got the dog and happily brought him to his new home with a fenced yard. Being retired, she has plenty of time to spend with her new pet Corgi. She always wanted a Corgi dog.

The dog is smart, adapted well to his new environment and was well mannered. A bond had formed after almost two weeks.

Then the unexpected happened. Today the former owner showed up at my friend's door and wanted her dog back. She said she cried all the time and just can't live without him. She had made some kind of arrangement with the apartment complex about keeping her dog.

She repossessed the dog! What a confusing thing to put the dog through just as he was getting settled in his new home. My friend was shocked, but had no choice but to relent and give the dog back. The ironic thing was that when the woman went to the fence where my friend was out in the back yard playing with the dog, it gave no response to the former owner, but stayed with my friend until being repeatedly called to by the former owner. Then it was just like, “oh hi.” There was no excited reunion.

The dog was put into the car and taken away, along with all its possessions (toys, blanket, food dish, etc.).

I was also a bit shocked at the incident. So the hunt for a rescue Corgi begins again, and the healing begins for both the dog and my friend. The dog lost a big fenced yard in which to run and play and the devotion of a great friend.

AIR HOSE

I have created a monster. Tuesday evening my friend Michele and I went to the Fayette County Fair.

Michele, who lives in the Cincinnati area, had brought a few things for my handyman to repair and decided to come pick them up and go to the demolition derby (a 7pm event) with me. She usually spends a couple days with me when she visits. Michele brought a chair she wanted repaired, so my handyman is working on that while she is here.

At 4:30pm we headed out to the fair, park and go see the exhibits. We walked around the Mahan Building, which was a bit of a disappointment this year. There were not as many exhibitors (probably because the fair board raised the prices of spaces) and there were no freebies being given away this year. In past years, we could always get free pens, pencils, paper, yard sticks, and that kind of items from vendors. Nothing this year.

We walked through the poultry barn and saw turkeys with their feathers spread out like a peacock, and a chicken getting blown dry with a hairdryer, sights we had not seen before. I pet a prize-winning white rabbit whose owner was walking through the barn.

Then we walked through the cattle barn and proceeded to the goat area. One goat really liked to have his ears scratched and loved all the attention.

At the Pork Producers building, we got pork tenderloin sandwiches and sat to rest a bit. It was almost advertised time for the demolition derby to start so I got my fried onion rings and we headed for the truck, which was parked on the horse track for great viewing of the event.

We set up the chairs and prepared for some crash action. As the grandstand was filling up, they announced that since a few participants were not there yet, the derby would not start until 8pm. I don't think the crowd was happy about it.

As we sat there waiting, Michele went to get an order of fried veggies, that is after consuming an ear of corn and a carmel apple. Fair Food! After a children's event of mini-cars, and the mower event, the derby FINALLY got underway. The temperature dropped to 64 degrees and we put on sweatshirts to keep warm. After the sun went down, we had to cover up with my brown fuzzy blanket.

It is the middle of July and two women are in sweatshirts covered with a blanket to watch an event sitting in the back of my truck. Something is just not right about the weather this week. Too cold.

One of my girlfriends was texting me constantly during the derby time, because her husband is a fireman who was on duty at the derby. He did come over to say hi before the event started. Michele started laughing at our texts and the more we joked about things the more we laughed.

When the derby started, she would always root for the underdog of the last two cars going at it. She really got “into” this derby crash-em-up thing. She hollared and we laughed and had so much fun. Then it was over about 9:45pm and we headed home. There were not as many events as in past derbies, because the fair has been going downhill lately. But we still had FUN! Now Michele loves the demolition derby.

When we got home, to top off the food-fest, we had a bowl of ice cream before bedtime. Oh, stomach prepare thee!

Now, why did I call this blog AIR HOSE. Because the funniest statement made during our evening was about an air hose. As we were walking through the Mahan Building, I happen to see an ex-friend working at an exhibit booth. We don't speak, but I was taken totally aback by his recent severe weight gain (50-75 pounds).

While walking near the grandstands a bit later, I saw the fire chief and asked him if he found his missing air hose. A slight look of confusion crossed his face. Then I said, “You know, the one that someone used to blow him up like a balloon!” I didn't need to mention any name; he knew who I was talking about. Laughter broke out all around.

I am sorry that the person was obviously not taking care of himself like in the past, but the shock was too great to ignore. By the comments that followed, it was all taken in good fun.

Rapid weight gain is sometimes a sign of severe unhappiness. I hope he seeks help or finds some happiness in life soon, so he can experience the laughter that Michele and I had watching the derby. Laughter is good for the body and soul.

THE ARTIST

I have a friend who is quite the artist and woodworker. He started a woodworking shop in Greenfield, Ohio many years ago. I've seen some of his work and it is beautiful and detailed.

I recently was able to view one of his artistic drawings, currently on display in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Greenfield. The church commissioned him to make a drawing for the Easter program. This is a free-hand, chalk-drawing on linen material.

BEST BEHAVIOR

I have now overcome the effects of my recent lack of sleep.

My newest family member is now 12 weeks old and his training is going very well. He is a smart puppy. He is totally crate trained and goes inside at night without coaxing. At eight weeks, when I first got him, he was on a two-hour-pee schedule. Therefore, I didn't get much sleep at night. I took many daily naps. As of last night, it is now a six-hour-pee schedule, progressing from two, to three, to four, to five, to now. I can now get a total six hours continuous night time sleep.

He is now housebroken and whines to get my attention to go outside. He knows what "GO PEE" means and complies. He also now walks well on the leash. He knows the word "NO" and responds to his name 90% of the time. He also knows the command "SIT" and does it often. We are working on consistent repetitive command training. We are starting to work on the "LIE DOWN" and "COME" commands. He is alert, attentive and eager to please. I like dog training and took many suggestions from The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan.

I was invited to a friend's home and asked to bring Duke with me, because my friend had not yet seen him. Since he is now housebroken, I agreed to visit for a couple hours with Duke. The visit went very well and Duke was on his best behavior. Duke is by nature a very calm dog (yellow lab). As my friend and I sat and talked, Duke laid down at my feet. Duke has decided he must be near me at all times. He's a real mama's-boy. And very well behaved!

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN

Two years ago my ice maker quit working in my Sears Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator.

I have a mechanic friend in Virginia (specializing in air conditioning and refrigeration) who came to visit and checked the parts needed. Shortly after his visit two years ago, he mailed me a package containing a new ice maker and valve/pump unit (which controls the water traveling up the tubing to the ice maker unit). Then I waited.

And waited. And waited.

A few days ago I finally got another visit from my mechanic friend and I retrieved the parts package from the garage, still unopened. He replaced the ice maker unit and the valve/pump item at the lower rear of the refrigerator. Then we waited, after priming the ice maker with a bit of water.

About 45 minutes later, I heard a slight clunk. Sure enough, a few ice cubes dropped into the bin. We watched as water flowed up the tubing into the ice maker. About 30-45 minutes later, CLUNK, a full batch of ice was dumped into the bin.

HALLELUIAH – my ice maker works again. I bought bags of ice for a couple months, then cleaned off the top shelf of the freezer and used six plastic ice cube trays to make ice starting two years ago. Now my ice maker works again and I can get ice from the freezer door dispenser.

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! Sometimes they just take time.

HAPPY 4TH