Midwest Trip Was Heaven on Earth

Cedar Point Raptor

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section June 25, 2011

Last week my daughters and I flew back to Ohio to see my father and some old friends I haven’t seen in over 25 years. Yes, I had been working out – in the pool – for weeks and of course I had been lathering on the tan-in-a-can for days to make sure I had that natural Southwest glow. I wasn’t about to look like a pudgy middle-aged frump.

Our first stop was in Columbus to see my dad, who continues to struggle with Parkinson’s. A little slower, he was amazed to see how tall the kids had grown, and glad to have the company. We went to his favorite place for dinner, Hometown Buffet, and gorged ourselves as everyone does at those trough-style restaurants.

My college roommate just happened to be in town that same week, so we met up for a night of laughter and fun, just don’t bring up politics. We first met when the computer matched us up our sophomore year at Ohio University, roomed together again our senior year, and have stayed close friends ever since. Fate can be a wonderful thing.

After saying goodbye the next morning, we piled into the car and headed north on I-71 to Cleveland. But no one could sit still because the next day was to be the greatest day in a teenager’s life. We were going to the best amusement park in the world, as voted by the magazine Amusement Today for the past 13 years.
We awoke early, packed sandwiches, put on our walking shoes and headed for Cedar Point to ride all 17 roller coasters, including three of the top 10 steel roller coasters in the world.

No, not all of us went on the big ones, but between us we managed to hit the Corkscrew, Blue Streak, Gemini, Maverick, Millennium Force, Raptor, and Top Thrill Dragster, just to name a few.
An afternoon shower forced everyone to seek shelter for a half an hour while the rides were shut down. We ended up in Frontierland at the Red Garter Saloon for some nachos, beer and pop; finally a place where I am not the only one who uses that three-letter word.

Saturday night brought a cookout with friends I hadn’t seen since the mid-’80s. On one hand, it was like we hadn’t lost touch at all. And on the other, the wrinkles on our faces, the marriages, the births, the divorces and the deaths along the way reminded us 25 years really is a long time. We were young and relatively innocent then, and now a little wiser, a little mellower and a lot more appreciative of our precious time and who we should spend it with.

A little shower during the night gave us a misty Sunday morning and a Father’s Day classic car show. I found my usual favorites, but was excited to see my grandmother’s gold 1967 Bonneville; I instantly recognized the dashboard, the radio buttons I used to push and gold cloth seats where I used to sit. A sudden downpour had the old guys scrambling for tarps to cover their roadsters and dragsters and tricked out ’61 Impalas.

The daily humidity level was at 60 percent and all I wanted was to jump in Lake Erie for relief. Instead, I settled for two showers a day.

Did I have good weather, someone asked me? Yes, it was overcast the entire week with isolated thunderstorms. Heaven on earth to this transplanted Midwestern girl.

Quote of the Week: “They say if you get far enough away, you’ll be on your way back home.” – “Blind Love” by Tom Waits.



Father's Day 2011

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section June 18, 2011

Father’s Day is tomorrow, and although some of you fathers out there feel it is just another holiday invented by the greeting card companies, the rest of us feel just the opposite.

You can’t be all bad when your sons want to grow up to be just like you, and your daughters want to marry someone who is just like you. Father’s are important to their children.

Many men are of few words, yet when opportunities present themselves, they seem to rise to the occasion and speak words of wisdom in low, genuine loving tones. Fathers, whether you realize it or not, you have all the power in the world and your children are listening.

You are teaching your children life lessons all the time, values that only a father can instill in his children. And usually at the times when you least realize. Here are some lessons my father taught me, and he probably doesn’t even know it.

Seeing my dad drive 6 hours in the car to spend 36 hours with his three little kids in a Howard Johnson’s motel room for years taught me you have to put yourself out there when it comes to your kids, even if you live in a different state.

Seeing the look on my dad’s face, and the tears in his eyes as he waved goodbye to his kids after spending the weekend together, not knowing the next time he would see them taught me that life isn’t always the way you imagined it, or wanted it. But if you deal with it the best way you can, everyone will get through it.

Waking up your child from the backseat after riding six hours in the car to witness the odometer turn 70,000 miles together taught me you can find joy in even the smallest things in life.
Finding a tiny black and white picture of my mother in my dad’s jewelry box taught me it’s alright to hold someone in your heart forever, even if you were only married to them for 7 years of your life and went though a heartbreaking divorce.

Watching my dad go on rollercoasters when he was in his 50s taught me you’re never too old to act like a kid.

Working in the family business until 2 in the morning packing donuts into boxes for delivery at 6am, and then coming back at 6am to drive the delivery truck instilled a strong work ethic in me, and taught me that nobody goes homes until the job is done.

Being forced to go to boring family reunions with my dad taught me family is important, whether you even know which people are blood relatives and which ones married in, it’s important to know where you came from.

This is your purpose in life, men. Be there for your children. Love your children, whether they are 9 years old, 18 or 50. You have all the power in the world. Use it with tender loving care. Happy Father’s Day Dad.
Quote of the Week: “I guess the real reason that my wife and I had children is the same reason that Napoleon had for invading Russia: it seemed like a good idea at the time.” - Bill Cosby.

Someday You, Too, Will Be ‘That’ Old

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section June 11, 2011

They say the first step to overcoming a problem is to acknowledge it. My problem is age. Staying in shape has always been easy for me; walking was my answer to keeping my schoolgirl figure. But I have come to the point in my life where walking, and I mean power walking, isn’t cutting it anymore. As unfortunate as this is, I acknowledge it.

The second step to overcoming a problem is to treat it. I started seriously treating this problem over a month ago by returning to an activity that I know all too well: swimming.

Growing up on the water in Michigan, everyone was a swimmer. I was on swim teams ever since I can remember. I was even a valley champion in high school, as well as being the captain of my high school girls swim team my senior year.

I say this not to be boastful or conceited, but rather the back story is important. Starting swimming again after too many years out of the water was a very humbling experience to say the least.
You would think performing an activity that you used to be very good at would come naturally to you some 30 years later, like riding a bike. But was I in for a rude awakening.

About five weeks ago, I stopped in Big 5 to get a new Speedo swimsuit so I would at least dress the part of a true swimmer. Goggles and a towel and I was off to the aquatic center early Monday morning last April.
Upon arrival, the girl at the desk asked me if I was there for the class or the lap swim. I know one day I will probably be in the class where all the women stand in a circle, bounce in the shallow end of the pool and gossip, but not yet.

Before school let out, there were always plenty of open lanes. In fact, there were many times when I was the only swimmer the lifeguard had to watch. Now I get to watch the teenagers on the swim team practice and remember what I once was, so far away and long ago.

They don’t know that I used to do 6,000-yard workouts, weights and what have you, too. No, all they see is some woman slowly swimming down a lane holding on to a kickboard because she has no clue what real swimming is.
Yes, all of us old-timers take our time going up and down the lanes on our backs, sides and some of us even put our faces in the water. As tempting as it is to do the sidestroke, I refuse to. Yes, my grandmother taught me how to do the sidestroke in Lake Huron. Yes, I am proud, but in a pool full of young people, this would categorize me as an old lady. Wait a minute, I am sure they already think of me as one of the old ladies. What do I care?
Your day will come, you young whippersnappers. When you are the elder in the pool, recounting great memories of all the hard work you did, the friendships you made along the way, the great shape your body was in, all the food you could eat without gaining weight, and how you thought that you would never be “that” old.

Quote of the Week: “The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven’t changed in 70 or 80 years. Your body changes, but you don’t change at all.” – Doris Lessing, 2007 Nobel Prize winner in Literature.