Life

Here I am with Rachel Pauley prior to the event. Nice face paint, eh?

Part III

Barcelona. One of my favorite cities in the world and the reason for this 16 day tour. We pulled into Barcelona proper after our marathon trip and immediately took stock of where we were. We needed to get to Malgrat de Mar and check into the Hotel Rey Mar Playa and we eventually made our way there. The hotel was nothing special but they treated us right. We immediately hit the beach for some sun and a much deserved cleansing of the body. We hadn’t taken showers in a while and the ocean felt good. After some relaxation, we headed back to the train station to go back to Barcelona. We needed to meet Dr. Pauley and discuss tickets. She was with her husband (Roger) and daughter (Rachel) and we met up with her at the hotel. We had six tickets to the track & field finals, mostly relay events and would get to see the men and women 4x100 meter relay and hopefully some USA gold medals. We were happy with that, I think we could have gotten some other events but we were all pretty poor. 1992 was the first year that professional basketball players could participate in the Olympics and the US had sent the “Dream Team” over. Tickets were too expensive for us though.

We hit some place for dinner and Horner had his first octopus tentacle in some dish. I know that because we have a photo of him eating it. We met the Nigerian Olympic team at the restaurant and they wanted to trade stuff with us. They really wanted my official USA Track & Field hat but I was holding out for an official credential. I was stupid, no way was I getting that. It was their meal ticket and entry into Olympic Village. Later, we went out with Rachel and two of her friends, first to a little cerveceria for pitchers of Sangria then to one of the craziest nightclubs that I’ve ever been to. It was huge with probably 300-400 people sweating and dancing and hundreds more on the balcony above us. We danced, we drank, we had a great time. And somehow we got back to Malgrat de Mar that evening.

The next day we celebrated Shep’s birthday, which was actually the following day. We hung out in the hotel and swam and had some beers. Montse had left several messages for me at the hotel and I finally took her call and she told me that several of the gang wanted to come down to Malgrat and see us. Although it was Shep’s birthday, we didn’t have any plans other than drinking a few beers and going out on the town. Montse (and her daughter) and Flora and their husbands ended up arriving around dinner and we ate and drank some beers with them into the night. They were pretty subdued but we hit it pretty hard. After all, how often are we in Spain on someone’s birthday? They wanted us to stop and visit them in their town on our travels but we didn’t commit because we didn’t have any real schedule and weren’t sure if Figureres would fit into our agenda.

After they left, we walked down to a hopping nightclub. We celebrated pretty hard but everyone was having a good time. Malgrat de Mar is a tourist town for the English and the Germans and I hear they both like to drink some beer. We eventually rounded everyone up and decided to go skinny dipping in the Mediterranean. How many people can say they did that? Anyway, it was a late night for us and we had many many cervezas.

Morning came and it was Olympic day. We were all pretty hungover from the night before but we got our stuff together and made our way to Barcelona. There’s nothing like McDonald’s to make things right and we found one when we got off the train. We eventually found the Stadium and walked around, enjoying the festivities and trying to trade for Olympic pins. Someone had thought of a great idea prior to the trip and bought face paint in the Olympic colors. We planned on painting the Olympic rings on our stomachs outside the Stadium. Everyone remembered their paint except for George so we tried to mix all the colors to get black but it turned into more of a gray. Nevertheless, we painted the rings on, we stood in the correct order and we had one of the few “celebrity moments” of the trip. There were hundreds of people coming by that were snapping photos and asking if they could get a picture taken with us. We should have been charging for each photo. When I think back to all those photos taken of us, I wonder how many are still out there and how many countries they are in. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see us in a national magazine when we got back but it didn’t happen. But we did get a great souvenir photo of the trip.

Security for the Olympics was tight and I imagine it has been since Munich 1972. I held onto my ticket for dear life, afraid I would lose it, and waited in the long line to get in. We bought some souvenirs inside but the shirts all ran very small. Of course, it was the last day of events but I was hoping for a bigger selection. We made our way to our seats and discovered we were in the 10th row. Now I’ve sat in some nice seats in my life but these were pretty sweet. Ironically, we were in the corner of the Stadium where the second exchange is made in the 4x100 relay, the same corner I used to run on Massillon’s relay team. It was still early and we just enjoyed the atmosphere. I had a big American flag that I hoped to be waving once the events began. I did run up and visit Rachel Pauley in her seats. She was high up but I preferred our seats down low.
There were a bunch of events going on that day, some of which I don’t even remember. I know there was the men and women’s high jump. The USA didn’t fare well there. But the marquee events were the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, both men and women. I was excited to see them because the US was supposed to do very well. And the men didn’t disappoint. First, the 4x100 team took the gold and set a new record del mundo (world record) and we saw Carl Lewis win his eighth and final gold medal of his incredible career. The whole team did a victory lap and I swear King Carl pointed at me during it. Of course, I was waving that big flag I had brought. We had some Russians behind us and they kept making comments about us sitting down but who sits down during the most exciting races of the Olympics. Then the women followed suit with Gwen Torrence and Evelyn Ashford leading the team to gold. The men’s 4x400 team then set another record del mundo, breaking the last world record set in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The women took the silver but we were still excited. We had seen what we wanted.

The men’s 1500 was pretty crazy. Apparently the Spanish had a favorite in the event and he ended up winning the gold by a hair, setting off pandemonium in the stands. I had never seen such excitement and it made me appreciate how many Spanish were actually in the Stadium that night.

There was a nice light show in a big plaza next to the Stadium and we walked through it. We were tired, hot and sweaty and ready to get back to our hotel. We figured we would jump in a cab to the train station and get back in time for another dip in the pool. But that was not as easy as you would think. There were no empty cabs anywhere so we walked and walked and walked. No one had a good idea about where we were going and we eventually were walking in residential neighborhoods, just hoping for a cab to come by. We somehow made it to the train station, only to find out that last train had already left so we were stuck in Barcelona. I guess had we been drinking and having our normal good time it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal but the previous night and the long day had taken its toll. We ended up taking two cabs back to Malgrat de Mar and paid some ungodly amount of money.

The next day we decided to pack up and head to Barcelona one last time. We checked out of the hotel, took the train in and stowed our bags in some lockers. We did some touristy things, visited Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia (it wasn’t finished on my 1988 trip, wasn’t finished then and still isn’t finished), did a little shopping, looked around Picasso’s old neighborhood and wanted to see a bullfight. Alas, the arena was being used for a private party for NBC VIPs. We wouldn’t get the chance to see the toros but I saw two fights on my first trip to Spain so I was okay with that. We discussed whether we should go to Figueres to see Montse and Flora and finally decided that we would. I called them and told them we would be on the next train and they promised to pick us up. They didn’t know that we were going to play it by ear, if things were slow we were just going to jump on a train and head back to France. Little did we know that we were about to experience one of the highlights of our trip.

I'm confused. Everyone is outraged that Israel bombed a building and killed women and children but where is the outrage at the Hezbollah missiles that continue to be fired at Israel? These missiles are not aimed at military targets because they have no way to control them. They are simply fired at urban areas hoping to kill as many people as possible. Why does the world continue to tolerate terrorism? The superpowers need to crush it everytime it rears its head, whether in Lebanon, Asia, the U.S. or Africa.

This photo was taken on Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is. Note the date in the bottom right hand corner. 7/31/2001. Forty days before the towers behind us were attacked and fell to the ground. Rachel, Mike, Chrisy and I had a fun time that day and actually ate at Windows on the World on the 107th floor of the North Tower that evening. 73 restaurant staff and 87 patrons perished on September 11.

Part II

So the gang was all here. I distributed everyone’s gift bag which included their Olympic tee shirt and Kodak Olympic watch that I had gotten for everyone (at their expense, I wasn’t made of money). We synchronized watches and were off on a tour of London. We had no game plan and didn’t even know when we would leave London but who cared? I’ve never been a big fan of getting on a bus and touring a city. But a double-decker bus seemed to be something we should do and for the next couple hours we rode around, seeing the sites. We eventually made our way back to our hotel, picked up our things and decided to get on a train, head to the Channel for a ferry over to the mainland. Not much time in London but what the heck? Next stop on our adventure: Amsterdam.

The ferry over to the mainland was nothing to write home about but the price was right and they had a bar on board. I believe the drinks of choice were 16 ounce Carlsbads, in fact I know it was because we have a photo of Tony and a couple that we befriended and there are five cans in front of him. I’m not sure where that ferry even dropped us off but I know we had a good time on board. Seems to me it was in Belgium and when we got there Tony and I rode some conveyor belt that was for luggage a long way to a terminal. I jumped off and ripped my butt and shorts up. That felt good. It was time to validate our Eurailpass and get on to Amsterdam. This is where the first argument began. I told everyone that we couldn’t get on the train until we validated our passes, which was correct. But a couple of the drunkards thought they would just procrastinate and validate them whenever they wanted. Getting six guys, all of whom had been drinking and some who had not slept much, to do the right thing isn’t easy sometimes, there’s an old saying about herding cats that comes to mind. But good sense won out, guys got their passes validated and we got on the train.

Amsterdam has a reputation that is deserved. We pulled into town, found a cheap hotel near the Red Light District and started exploring. I was shocked that Red Light was different than Red Stripe, which is a great Jamaican beer that I enjoy. We stopped in a theatre to see a movie (I think we tried to see “A League of Their Own”) and got another shock. These theatres were not PG. As you can imagine, we quickly got out of there! We decided to do some sightseeing and actually went on a tour of the canals in a boat, which was hot and boring and why in god’s name we didn’t visit the Heineken brewery instead I’ll never know. That evening, we found a decent restaurant with an outdoor patio where we ate and sampled the Dutch national drink: Jenever. Now I was never much into spirit alcohol growing up and still prefer my beer. So when our waitress delivered the ice cold drink in a glass and everyone lifted their glasses and threw it down, I almost threw it up. I simply couldn’t drink it.

My friends are all pretty artsy so everyone wanted to get dressed up and see a show. Well, we didn’t have any nice clothes but we did find a show. And what a show it was, we sat in the back row while it finished up and then moved into the first row for the seven act play. It was very enjoyable and some in our party actually got to go on stage and participate, quoting Shakespeare in “Lady Macbeth”.

The Red Light District has a little something for everyone. I was astonished at the girls in windows that people could actually “shop” for. And yes, they did have hashish bars with menus listing different varieties of marijuana. But it wasn’t for me, I’ve never smoked pot in my life. A little trivia factoid, I’ve never even smoked a cigarette in my life.

Eventually, we returned to our room and crashed. I'm sure there is a story about BG and two Swedish girls in there somewhere but not in this blog. The next morning, we walked around town a bit more and decided it was time to move along. We got on a train and headed to Paris.

Geo brought along a little tape recorder and every once in a while he would pull it out and just record what was happening. Some days he would talk about what we were doing, a recorded diary of sorts, but most times he would just tape us talking and arguing. One of the best ones was us arguing about the greatest baseball players of all time and trying to figure out who they were and the different positions. I nominated a Cincinnati Redleg for every position but only won out one time. Here is the list we came up with that evening:

C Johnny Bench
3B Mike Schmidt
1B Lou Gehrig
2B Ty Cobb
SS Ozzie Smith
LF Ricky Henderson/Ted Williams
RF Babe Ruth
CF Willie Mays

No spot for Pete Rose? C’mon. The other great “discussion” on our way to Paris was the value of money. I could listen to that tape a hundred times and still not understand the arguements about the value of a gelding. Isn’t a gelding a castrated male horse? I think we meant gulden?

Ah Paris. We arrived late at night. We found a bar near the train station and got our second wind. We met some girls from Malta that probably wished we hadn’t. We ended up behind the bar before closing it down. On to greater things, we walked and walked because no cabs would pick us up. In our minds, it was because they knew we were American. I found out later that cabs can only stop in designated cab zones in Paris but who knew? So, where else do you go in Paris? Of course, the Eiffel Tower. Not much of a view in the middle of the night but we all saw it and proclaimed our gratitude to the French for being such strong allies to the U.S. We tried to sleep on park benches, in flower gardens, anywhere we could but none of us actually slept. Where was the security?

When morning came, we went to find some croissants and BG decided to take a short nap on a bench next to a busy road. We tied his shoelaces together, got behind him and yelled, causing him to stumble off the bench and run into a metal door before collapsing on the ground. A lot of the details of the trip are fuzzy but I remember this slow motion event like it was yesterday. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. BG still to this day says we could have killed him had he run out into the street.

Tired, hung over, mad at the French for the perceived taxi slight, we decided it was time to move on. We went back to the train station where we arrived to get a fast train to Barcelona. While there, someone told us that we needed to go to another train station across town to get there so we hustled over in cabs and just made it on a train. It turned out to be the slow train there and I swear it took us 24 hours. We stopped in a tiny little town in Spain (Irun) and we ran out to get some food. We were starving and getting to our destination had taken much too long. We eventually made our way through Pamplona and got to Barcelona.

Part I
I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics, as a participant and not a spectator. That dream ended many years ago but the chance to go to the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona came and I jumped at it.

My group of friends had been talking about going to the Olympics for a while. The seeds were planted on a Caribbean cruise that Tony and Shepherd and I went on in 1991 (that’s a whole other entry to come in the blog) when we met a bunch of couples from Spain that happened to be staying across the hall from us. I still spoke some Spanish from my visit in 1988 and fueled by some cocktails conversed a lot with the Spaniards who spoke zero English. We got to know each other fairly well in that difficult environment and came to find out that the women owned some hotels outside Barcelona. Bingo. Uno, dos, tres, viente cervezas later and we had the contact information and were set to go.

I corresponded with Montse over the next few months and found out their city was probably too far from Barcelona for us to stay. But she had friends and this led to that and I ended up booking a room in Malgrat de Mar, about 50 miles outside Barcelona but right on the ocean and a train ride away. Now we just needed tickets.

You may know that I went to Spain and took my final college class necessary to graduate in Madrid. The Director of the George Washington University program I went on became a friend and I talked to her frequently after the trip. She ended up representing a Spanish company in the U.S. and had access to Olympic tickets. I didn’t know what events we would get but now I had a room and tickets and felt pretty good about it.

Getting six guys together to go on a 16 day vacation is not easy. And this was in the days before email. But thanks to a great travel agent in Massillon, we ended up getting our airfare so now we had everything we needed. Geo and Tony would be flying from Columbus, me and Shep from Akron-Canton, Horner from Indianapolis and BG from Rockford, IL. We would all meet in New York City and get on the same plane to London. From there, we just needed to get down to Barcelona in time for whatever we were going to see.

Showtime. Shep and I took off on a stormy day and got into La Guardia much later than we were supposed to. Maybe one of the worst flights ever and compounded with our drinking on the plane and having to get up every 20 minutes to use the bathroom. Flying in, we passed over a plane that had burned to the ground the previous day. That's always comforting.

It appeared as if no one else was going to make it to the airport in time for our flight to London and we barely made it on the plane. They told us that everyone else would miss our flight and we felt lucky to make it. We didn’t have a backup plan; I didn’t even think about the possibility of people not joining up in NYC. So, we had some drinks, grabbed some sleep and figured everything would work itself out.

When we landed, who came running up to us at Heathrow but BG. He had somehow gotten on a flight a half hour before ours and was happy to see us. Geo, Horns and Tony did not make the flight and we had no idea when we would see them. Nevermind, it was time to get into London and get a cheap hotel and do what we do best. Have a cold one.

We may have taken a short nap when we got to our hotel. Who can remember after 14 years? But I remember the rest of the day pretty well. We did end up at a pub and drank some ale and had some fish and chips. Hey, when in London. After our spirits were lifted a few degrees, we went walking to visit some more pubs. On the way, we went into a convenience store and bought a tall boy to drink on the way to our next stop. Because, even in jolly old London, you don’t want to get dehydrated. So we thought it would be fun to sit out on the curb and drink the beer and talk to the people walking by. But everyone was rude to us. We would say hello to everyone, “how are you?”, etc. and everyone scurried by without acknowledging us. Finally, someone told us that we appeared to be street urchins and that people just thought that we were local drunks. Oh. We were just trying something that we couldn’t do back in the States. On our later travels, we would meet some actual street bums and get our photos with them.

The day/night continued in the SoHo District, a happening district. In no special order, we ended up crashing a private party in a bar and Shepherd was thrown down the steps by a bouncer, we found some underground bar and probably should have been killed, met some girls and their mom and bought them some drinks, took a wild cab ride past some of the London sites and visited most of the cool places in SoHo. And we had no idea where the other three guys were and how to get a hold of them. At some point, I drew the short straw and the plan was that I would get up in the morning and go out to the airport and wait for Tony, Geo and Horner. After a day and a night of drinking however, I woke up and that hour ride out to the airport was not happening. So I did the only thing my body would allow and got on the phone to the airport. By some act of God, it eventually was announced over the loudspeaker there that I was looking for the above group and next thing I knew, Geo was on the phone. They had gotten stuck in NYC and ended up sleeping at the airport and couldn’t get out until the next day. I think they went to a Yankees game, I’m not sure but I was glad to tell them where to meet us. I went back to bed and the adventure continued when they knocked on the door, announcing their arrival.

Keeping with the 1998 internship theme, here I am sitting at the Congressman's desk, pretending that I am signing some important paperwork. Regula has always had a great office, seniority will get that for you. He has moved up since I worked there, literally to the next floor above this office so that the tree growing outside his office doesn't obscure his view of the Capitol dome. Speaking of the Capitol, its my second favorite site in D.C. Especially at night where it rivals anything. It's just beautiful.

My favorite monument is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I love the clean lines and its a great place for a picnic lunch, although I've never done it. But I love the water and the cherry blossoms in the spring, I have seen that and its memorable.

I'm working on the Olympic story. Epic events take time to write.

The photo to the left is obviously me. Yes, I was a blonde when I still had hair, even my senior pictures show me with some blond left.

Here is a photo of me in the spring of 1988 with Congressman Ralph Regula. It was taken during my internship with the House. Of course, I would go on to work for the Congressman for almost five years after returning from Spain. It's funny, I brought him back a crystal elephant set from Venice because he collected them. I wonder if that helped get me the job? As far as the jacket I'm wearing goes, it was a grey and white blend, very hip at the time but not something I could wear today. See my internship story in a post below to read more about the jacket.

Radio and television calls it a "teaser". Here's my version: My next big story will be about my trip to the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. I went with some friends and here is a photo of us outside Olympic Stadium, just prior to the Track and Field finals. Unfortunately, I am headed to Cleveland Monday morning and won't return until Tuesday afternoon so this epic won't be posted until later this week.

My friend Sam is scanning some of my old photos into jpg. files so here's a thanks to him. Check out his blog at http://gerhardstein.blogspot.com/ . Here's an old one from Little League, circa 1976. Can you guess which one I am? Click on the picture to make it larger. I'll post the answer below at the end of my concert post.

I'm not much into music and never have been (although I did order B.B. King's Live at the Regal, Enya and UB40's Greatest Hits today). Yes. Enya. Hey, it relaxes me. Anyway, I've not gone to a lot of concerts in my life. I've listed the ones I know below and what I remember most about each.

Journey - I was left at the old Coliseum in Cleveland by my friends. I was walking to the other car and each car thought I was with the other. Dad had to come pick me up in the middle of the night, I'm sure he wasn't thrilled. Thanks Dad!
Michael Stanley Band- My first concert at Blossom and a friend's girlfriend throwing her engagement ring at him while my girlfriend and I looked on. We found the ring.
Chicago - I worked for the UD Arena at the time and made $3 an hour building and tearing down the stage. I was backstage, waiting for the tear down so to say I saw them is a stretch.
Genesis - Same girlfriend but went to see this in college and we actually sat in different rows but right behind each other. I don't know why that happened.
Pink Floyd - In old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, great seats on the field. Everyone else was smoking pot.
Bob Segar - Went with an old college friend and sat in the company loge. Maybe the best concert I've ever seen.
AC/DC – I've seen them twice, both in loges and they were fun concerts.
Jimmy Buffet - First time it poured and I only heard one song before leaving and the second was in Cincinnati.
Kiss - Saw them in our loge and my date got hammered and also saw them at Polaris where I drank too much.
Aerosmith/Lenny Kravitz - Sarah and I saw them in a loge and we had drinks at Mortons beforehand. We had to leave early to get home to Henry.
Bruce Springsteen - Was in the company loge and was with some higher ups so I was on my best behavior.
Crosby, Stills & Nash - AEP loge, a guy almost fell out the box. I always wondered why they put that plexiglass at the bottom of the stairs...
Elton John/Billy Joel - Another loge, another work event. They were both pretty good.

Answer to the above: I am the third PLAYER from the right in the back row.

Nothing much to write today so I'll just post a photo of Henry and his girlfriend Kirsten. She's an older woman and I know she's going to break his heart one day...

I’m going to write again about Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah. I’ve learned some more about this whole situation and now understand a little better why the U.S. is sitting this one out and letting Israel pound southern Lebanon.

Almost everyone in the world wants Hezbollah out of Lebanon, except Syria and Iran. Even France wants them out. So do most Arab countries, even if it is for their own self-interest. Hezbollah is a terrorist, militant Shiite group who takes its orders from Iran and Syria.

But who is willing to go in and kick some ass? Enter Israel. They have the motivation and the ability and the sympathy of the world. Now, that will slowly change as Lebanese toddlers are shown with bandages on their heads but they have it now. In fact, I've sensed a change already.

Let’s not lose sight of what is going on here. Israel left Lebanon years ago and is not trying to retake its land. Rather, it is simply trying to eradicate a terrorist organization that is a headache to the world. And I support their right to do it.

Three posts in one day. But this one really is just a photo. No words necessary; I'll talk about Massillon at a later time. I have to be the only season ticket holder at both Paul Brown Tiger Stadium (Massillon) and Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati)...

Another hot issue in the news today is the President's veto of stem cell legislation. From what I've seen, it will hold the line on federal funding for stem cell research and not relax restrictions on where these cells come from.

For me, its a money and not a moral issue. If Pfizer or J&J or any other company want to spend billions of dollars on stem cell research, I say get to it. The government already has spent over $90 million of taxpayer money on stem cell research. It has made 21 lines available and replications from these cells are done all the time. There simply is no shortage of stem cells for research. And there is no restriction that I know of for the big pharmaceuticals to invest their own money in this research.

Maybe federal research dollars should go to other diseases? Cancer is certainly one that comes to mind. Diabetes probably needs more funding. AIDS is a worldwide problem.

I'm not sure why this is an issue. It couldn't be politics, could it?

I admire Israel. They don't take shit from anyone. And for the most part, its enemies leave them alone other than talking about how it should be destroyed. This whole conflict began as a result over one kidnapped soldier and now we are on the brink of full blown war in the Middle East. And the lead story is how the United States is not getting our citizens out fast enough.

I am big into personal responsibility. Those are words I live my life by and one of the most important lessons I will pass on to Henry. If I build my home next to a highway or railroad track, I would never complain to the government that it is too loud. If I build a home in a flood plain, I would not expect a handout if my house flooded. If I go to Iraq to protest the war or to join a relief organization, I know that it is dangerous.

And now unfortunately if I go to Israel or the Middle East, I accept the fact that there is a chance I would be killed.

I want our citizens out of the Middle East. Out of Lebanon. Oh, I believe they should be responsible for paying their way out but let's get them out and deal with that later. The U.S. is the best country in the world but it can't perform miracles. Rather than criticize the government, let's thank them for doing the things necessary to help people. And pray for the people who are waiting.

Today we had our first ultrasound and here is the result, the first "picture" of our baby. It's surprisingly clear to me although I had the privilege of seeing the heartbeat and the arms waving around. No news on whether its a boy or girl, that won't be until 4 months. Sarah is ten weeks and one day pregnant according to the measurements. That puts the due date around Valentine's Day.

I don't think much of abortion as a political issue. But there's no doubt in my mind that this is a living person right now. One only needs to see the heartbeat and the movement to be amazed that something this small and this "new" is already a baby.

I get to play some golf for my job. I'm not a great golfer but generally get by. Most days its fun but Monday I played on the hottest day of the year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I must have drank 20 bottles of water.

I've been thinking about the great courses I've played in my life. Here's a list with the corresponding Golf Digest ranking:

Private: Muirfield Village (18), Inverness (41), Sand Ridge (52), Scioto (59), Canterbury (86), Pete Dye Golf Club (91), Harbour Town (97). Firestone North and South aren't on the top 100 but I'd take both over Harbour Town.

Public: World Woods (26), Cuscowilla (45), Lakewood Shores (47), Longaberger (65), Tidewater (67), Purgatory (87), Brickyard (100).

September 11, 2001 was a horrible day for America. I understand the historical reasons for war but can’t comprehend the intentional killing of innocent men, women and children on such a large-scale basis. Especially in the name of god.

Most people will always remember where they were when they heard the news about the Towers coming down, similar to how people remember where they were when JFK was shot. I’ll always remember where I was because I was at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, waiting for the second leg of my trip to Springfield, IL.

I was flying to Springfield for a meeting with some guys with the Illinois Department of Commerce to discuss some state incentives to build a new coal power plant. It was going to be a long day, fly in and fly back the same day which is fairly hard to do because the Springfield airport doesn’t have a lot of airlines servicing it. For the same reason, travelers had a three hour layover at O’Hare waiting for their puddle jumper.

My flight arrived in Chicago early that morning and I used the layover to go to the adjacent Hilton to have a leisurely breakfast. On the way to my gate I got a phone call from one of the Dominion guys who was going to meet me in Springfield. He was in his plane on the ground in Virginia and something had happened and there was going to be a delay. He said they had shut down everything on the East Coast. I wasn’t too concerned; I could handle the meeting by myself if he didn’t make it. But then things got weird. I looked at the monitor to find out if we were okay and all the departure times were blinking. I had never seen that before.

No one knew what was going on. The agents didn’t even know. So I started walking toward some of the restaurants/shops when I received another phone call. This one was from a friend in Columbus who knew I was traveling and she told me that the Twin Towers had been hit by an airplane and that it may have been a terrorist attack. I doubled back to my gate; lights were still blinking so I started looking for a television to see what the news was reporting.

This was where things got really weird. The television was turned off in the first place I encountered. And the second. And the third. I finally found one but there were so many people jammed in Wolfgang Puck’s that I couldn’t hear and could barely see what was on. So I went looking for another one but they were all off. When I returned to Puck’s, that television was off too. They turned every TV in the airport off.

I kept trying to call my friend back but the cell service was poor. Finally, I got her and she said that two planes had hit the Towers and it was definitely a terrorist attack.

I’m not sure how other people felt when they learned about the attacks but I was scared. I was in a strange city, in an airport that very well could be a target if this was a large scale planned attack. So I looked to get the hell out of there.

The rental car places were packed and that did not look promising so I thought I would try to get downtown and rent a car there. At the least, I could get on a train and head east, back toward Chicago. I shared a cab with some guy and on the way in called the Hilton Honors hotline for a room in case I had to stay in town. They had nothing except at the Drake so I headed there. I also called our Pittsburgh office and our secretary told me there was a rumor of a plane from Cleveland to Pittsburgh that had crashed. This worried me, at the time it was very likely someone from our company was on that flight and I wouldn’t find out until later that it was the flight path from a plane that originated on the east coast that crashed into a Pennsylvania cornfield.

The Drake is a nice hotel. And for $450 a night, it should be. There was a problem in getting a room though because everyone who had checked out was coming back for their room. And the hotel didn’t comprehend that the people who would be checking in wouldn’t be getting there because the airlines were shut down. But I managed to get one and immediately headed for the train station to see if I could get out of town. The train station was a mess. The lines to purchase tickets were very long and they weren’t selling tickets. Everybody was just waiting. Then the thought hit me “I’m in a train station in Chicago and this might also be a terrorist target”. So once again, I got the hell out of there.

The cab driver drove me back and we drove by some rental car places. Those lines were long and they didn’t appear to have any cars. I was stuck in Chicago.

Driving down Michigan Avenue was eerie. The stores were all shut down and there was almost no one walking up and down the street. I wanted to buy some casual clothes but nothing was open. I got worried that I wouldn’t be able to get something to eat so ordered a big steak when I got back to the hotel. The rest of the day was spent watching TV and wandering around the area around the hotel.

That evening, a girl I was dating at the time drove to Chicago to pick me up. We left early September 12 to head back. The roads were deserted; it seemed as if everyone was bunkered down for a few days.

Five years later, we are still at war. We have defeated the Taliban in Afghanistan and rid the world of Saddam Hussein. We won the Iraq war shortly after it started and now are fighting terrorists who look at Iraq as a chance to kill Americans. The Middle East is once again a powder keg, with Iran and Syria orchestrating war against Israel. But the lesson of September 11 for me is this: There are people in this world who hate the United States and what it stands for and they will do everything in their power to destroy us. We can sit back and let that happen or we can be proactive and go destroy them first. I support the latter.

I had a fun few days. Golfed at Firestone C.C. on Thursday, stayed overnight and did it again at a Senator Kim Zurz outing on Friday. Then we went camping this weekend and it was hot. Saw a lot of skunks and they got into a cooler one night. Here's a few photos from the last few days:

Most people I know think I'm a Republican. I am but I'm a little frustrated with my party right now. It's not a Bush thing or a Congress thing as much as the entire party. I believe we have lost our way and forgotten the important thing in life: WE ALL NEED LESS GOVERNMENT IN OUR LIVES.

Big government has failed America. I don't believe the government does many things well. I guess it builds roads well. And fights wars very well. And unfortunately, it gives money to people way too well. We have created a system of entitlement that has sucked generations into a cycle of welfare. It's time we break it. But my rant on government is for another day...

So this next thing may surprise you. I think we need to outlaw talking on cell phones while driving. I'll be the first to admit that I do it. And I'll also admit I'm a much worse driver when I'm on the phone. So I limit it as much as I can, especially when I have Henry in the car. I have had some near wrecks recently and they are mostly people who are chatting away on their phone and not paying attention to other drivers. What and who is so important that we need to talk to them while driving 20 minutes into work? I see people on their cell phones when they are leaving their homes for work and again when they are pulling in their driveway. People, give me a break. You can't drive very well when you are focused on the road, let alone when you are dialing your cell phone.

Stupid drivers drive me crazy. Ask Sarah, she gets to hear most of my comments to them. And unfortunately, Henry has heard a few too...

Maybe the greatest joke I ever pulled off: In 1992, several friends visited Washington, D.C. with me and stayed in a place called The Capitol Hill Suites. It rained the entire time so there was little to do except tour the area saloons. We were young and wild and we left our room a bit in shambles but certainly nothing like a rock star. I took a piece of stationery and an envelope from the room when we checked out and when we returned home wrote the following letter to Tom Ruebel, one of the guys on the trip:

Dear Mr. Ruebel:

The following damage charges are due The Capitol Hill because of your registration as co-resident on February 14-17:

Broken Club Chair $125
Venetian Blinds $45
Toilet Seat $50
Additional Cleaning $25

This figure is the total due and should be shared with your co-residents. If this amount is not received, your charge card will be debited.

Sincerely,

Frank Abdul-Bahizar
Resident Manager

To cap off the joke, I placed the stamped envelope in our D.C. pouch which was sent to Washington every day from the Congressional office where I worked. I asked a fellow staffer to put it in the mail so that it would have a D.C. postmark.

Needless to say, Tom called me immediately upon receiving the letter. "Oh my god, I got a letter from the hotel. I'm not paying this. It was your friends who broke this stuff. I don't know how they got my address. I can't afford this". It was all I could do from laughing so I told him I had to call him back. I made him read me the letter again and told him that there was no way that my friends were going to pay for the damage.

I only let him stew on it for an hour or so. I figured he would call Mr. Abdul-Bahizar and figure out it was a joke.

I find this letter every four years or so and always laugh to myself. Today I found the original while looking through some work files for something.

The finished project. Finished as far as the raised beds go; we still have some work to do on the areas around the two trees in front as you can see from the photo. And cleanup has to count as more work but I'm hoping that's little more than hosing off the sidewalk and driveway. I still have a pile of dirt left but I'll find a use for that. If Andy Dufresne can get rid of all the stones and dirt from his tunnel out of the Mansfield Reformatory, I can get rid of a little dirt.

Oh, my aching back. Here is the weekend work showing the new plantings. I dug out the tree in the foreground and replanted it higher (twice because Sarah didn't like the metal basket it sat in). You can see the remains of the 5 yards of dirt in the driveway. Next up, mulch so that the rain doesn't wash away all this mounded dirt.

The other photo shows a new wall I built to contain a bed that will hold something to give us a little privacy from the neighbors. It was a spur of the moment thing but used up all but one block and all the remaining caps from the project you see in the background. We still have some work to do back here but I'm excited about how it will look. Next year.

I also moved 130 leftover pavers over to a neighbor's house last evening. I'm sure that contributed to my soreness but 40 years old doesn't help.

Here's another great photo of Henry. We bought him this pirate shirt in Key West this past January. I love Key West and now Sarah does too.

Here is the daily update on our raised beds, although apparently I don't know what a raised bed is. It seems to me that a thinking man might understand a raised bed to be one that is raised up and away from the lawn and/or walkway. He would further think that it is desirable to have a level bed as much as possible, even when there is an elevation change from one side to another of about 12 inches. Alas, Sarah and I have a different opinion of how it should look. I'm not sure who will win this one but I would really like to put in a stone wall to retain the dirt in the lowest end.

And for all my neighbors who probably had a pool about how many weeks the pile of dirt would sit in our driveway I say: This project is going to be done by Sunday. So eight days wins the pot.

This is my next project that's already begun. I had hoped to work on it over the weekend but the rain took care of that. You can see where I've dug out a new curve to give us more planting space and the hole where I took out one of the bushes. I'll take out the other three but will save the tree.

I said "my" next project because it appears as if Sarah has shut it down for the rest of the year. I don't mind so much but if I could get her to at least empty the dishwasher...

I love the Ohio State Buckeyes. I always have, ever since mom would have the kitchen radio on for the Massillon Tiger replay on Saturday mornings followed by the OSU broadcast. I remember walking home from my grandparent's house following the 1980 Rose Bowl when OSU was beaten by a point by USC, costing them the national championship. It was cold, but I was mad. I was there for most of Eddie George's senior year when he won the Heisman and I watched from a suite when the Buckeyes beat UM in 2002 to send them to the Fiesta Bowl and the National Championship game.

And I was there that January night in Tempe when Ohio State beat Miami to cap a 14-0 season.
I decided to go to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl the week prior to the Michigan game. I didn't know where I would get tickets but wasn't worried about it. My bigger concern was getting a flight out there. I had planned on calling America West immediately after the UM game but on the Wednesday prior I decided to make a leap of faith and book it. I got a great deal, I think everyone else was waiting to see whether we would get by Michigan. I'm not positive but I think the big rubber Tostitos hat I wore on my head prior to the game may have given us the extra energy to squeak out a win. Three friends, Mike, Mike and Tony confirmed their trip and we were all set. But we didn't have a game ticket and demand was sky high.

Mike works for a big company in town and they have a suite at the Horseshoe. So they received Fiesta Bowl tickets and somehow a few ended up in Mike's hands. With tickets being sold on ebay for $500, we were golden. I booked rooms at the Wyndham Buttes Resort, booked tee times and we were set for the biggest game we would ever see plus a little golf to boot.

Anticipation was high. Columbus was at a fever pitch for the game and I was estatic to be going. I had my traditional New Year's Day bowl party, where arguements flow as easily as the beer, before heading out the next day. The airport was packed with Scarlet and Grey, everyone seemed to be going out to Arizona. I met Mike #2 out there and after checking in it was margarita time. I'm glad Horner likes margaritas; we would drink a couple ten over the next few days. We met up with Chrisy, or Hot Chrisy as my friends know her, and walked around downtown Tempe. What a great college town. It's very clean, with lots of restaurants, bars and shops. But Buckeye Nation had taken over this ASU town, it was a swarming mass of scarlet shirts and hats.

That evening, we met up with some work people at an event I had thrown together. Beforehand, Horner and I watched USC destroy Iowa in the Rose Bowl, a prequel to the run they would put together the next few years. Mike #1 was coming into town that evening and we met up with him at McDuffy's and drank a few cold ones. Tony wasn't getting in until the next morning.

Gameday arrived early. Who could sleep? Tony arrived and after breakfast it was bloody mary time. Then we headed down to McDuffy's again, they were having a tailgate party and we were pretty much the first to arrive. But you don't want to get dehydrated in the desert so we started up. And kept going pretty much right up to game time and beyond. It's not easy entertaining yourself at a bar for 9 hours so we had to travel around a bit, hitting bar after bar. It was wild, an atmosphere I'll never forget. Buckeye fans outnumbered Miami fans 20 to 1 and everyone was getting crazy.

Finally, it was time to go to the stadium but there was one more tailgate we needed to hit. A couple of the guys from our annual Myrtle Beach golf trip were outside the stadium so we stopped there. But they were out of beer. So we were out of there. They sold beer at the game and we were looking forward to getting in and enjoying the atmosphere. Our seats were on the OSU side, on the 10 yard line but fairly high. On the aisle, near a concourse with a bathroom and concession stand nearby. Perfect.

I can't do the game justice with written word. It was great, a typical Ohio State win with great defense and minimal offense. There were some questionable calls but what can you do? Ironically, had they had instant replay the game likely would never have gone to overtime. Chris Gamble was clearly in bounds on a catch that would have given the Buckeyes a first down. Instead, the official ruled him out and the subsequent punt was returned far enough for the tying field goal to be kicked. So when Gamble was called for holding/pass interference, the football gods were making things right. The celebration after the win was one I'll remember forever, so much joy and falling down on the people in front of us.

The bars close early in Tempe. But we were spent after the game anyway so we eventually just tried to get home. Mike #1 and I lost Horner and Tony so we tried to get a cab. And tried. And tried. There were none. So we eventually got a bicycle rickshaw to take us to a bus stop where we caught a bus to the airport so that we could catch a cab there. Sounded like a plan until we got out there and there were no cabs at the airport at that time. We sat and eventually got back to our hotel but it was an adventure. And I had lost my cell phone, twice, at the game so I was bummed about that.

My day ended with a visit to the hot tub overlooking Tempe, cold beer and cigar in hand. Just me and the view. It was a perfect end to a great day.

We golfed the next three days. I stunk, but it was fun. In the end, I won $400+ on the game, taking the Buckeyes straight up at 5/1 odds and also taking them with the points. I also won some money at McDuffy's at its Off Track Betting parlor. But the memories will last much longer. It was special because of a number of things and can't be duplicated any time soon. The Bucks hadn't won it all since 1968. That wait, and the way they won it, is something special that I will always have.

Happy July 4th weekend. I probably won't post anything for a few days. Here's a photo of the flag flying at our home. You would probably be surprised at my opinion of the flag burning constitutional amendment debate. While people who burn our flag and protest against our government disgust me, I am fine with them having the constitutional ability to do it. Our flag is a symbol of our great nation but it's not anything more than that. Of course, if you try to burn my flag I'm likely to hit you with a baseball bat.