54. Jim Blount's books. Jim Blount is a local historian who wrote a popular column in the Hamilton Journal-News from 1988 to 2009. He continues to write on the Lane Library historical collection website.
I love learning about the history of the area I live in now, and Jim's readable histories are a wonderful insight into bygone days.
His books include: Butler County Biographies Butler County's Greatest Weather Disaster: Flood, 1913 Railroads of Butler County, Rossville Hamilton's West Bank: Its People, Ghosts, Places, Bridges and Businesses Little Chicago (2 vol.) (pictured below).
The Lane website features a searchable collection of Jim Blount's articles on such varied subjects as Aviation, Bridges, Canals, Courthouses, Crime Legends, Congress, Governors, Great Miami River, Hamilton Public Transit, Horses, Hydaulic Canals, Ice Industry, Interurban Lines, Law Enforcement Deaths, Mounuments, Railroads, Roads & Highways.
53. Sweet tea. Oh, yeah. It's not just for Summer. And this area is close enough to the South that "swait tay," one-third of my Holy Trinity of Southern cooking—the other 2/3 being fried chicken and fried taters—can be found pert near anywhere.
People can joke all they want about "Hamiltucky"," but I'm pleased as punch (so to speak) to live in an area where not only do grocery stores carry it in gallon jugs, but McDonald's, Wendy's and a few other restaurants feature it on their menus.
At home, of course, we make our own, using "cold brew" pitcher-size tea bags, 3/4 cup of sugar, and a re=purposed Gold Peak 59-ounce carafe bottle like the one pictured on the right.
Just under a year ago, the lovely Robin and I (and a couple dozen dear friends) were in the nation of Jordan. While the unrest in Egypt is grabbing all the headlines, there are also protests happening in Jordan right now. The first photo below is of our Jordanian guide, Samer, taken at Petra; the others, we don't know their names, but we pray for them all:
A few days short of a year ago, the lovely Robin and I (with a dozen or so dear friends) were in Egypt. The first photo is the man who was our guide, Emad. We don't know the names of the others, but we pray for them:
The Egyptian people are perhaps the warmest, friendliest people you will meet in the Middle East. Please join us in praying for them all.
52. When I set out to list on this blog the things I like about living where I do, I planned to list twenty things in two installments. Then I realized I had to add ten more. Then ten more. And now, it's at 52 and climbing. That just shows, I guess, that I like a lot of things about living where I do.
One of those is Lafferty Automotive, in W. College Corner, Indiana, just up the road from the booming metropolis of Oxford, Ohio. That's owner, proprietor, and car genius Bill Lafferty waving for the camera.
Having lived in ten different communities (in OH, NY, and NJ) since I got married at the ripe old age of nineteen, I have learned that a reliable, trustworthy, and talented car mechanic is worth more than gold, yea, than much fine gold. And Bill Lafferty is that (and a friend, besides). I figure that anyone who can build a working hydrogen cell for an AMC Hornet can fix pretty much anything that goes wrong with my 2000 Ford Focus. And he has.
Since Bill's been working on our cars, I've come to trust him explicity and implicitly. He has saved me a lot of money, worry, and stress over the years.
If you're in the area, you should take your car to Lafferty Automotive, 3988 US Highway 27, West College Corner, IN 47003-9310, (765) 732-3441.
51. Whether in uptown Oxford (above) or downtown Hamilton (below), one of the many things I like about living in this area is Kofenya, the spacious coffeehouse started by Liz Snyder and Nicole Ayres in the Fall of 2004 (well, the Oxford location, that is; the Hamilton site is much more recent).
Both locations, however, are great meeting places and gathering places. And they serve a lot more than coffee.
Though I'm known to hang out at Starbucks in Oxford sometimes, too, Kofenya is so much roomier, and the atmosphere is just more conducive to thinking and talking and writing. I was there (at the Hamilton location, at 221 High St.) just this morning, after an appointment at the Government Services Building, a block away. Good coffee, comfy chairs, FREE WIFI, that's Kofenya...one of the things I like about living here.
Last Friday (Jan. 21), the lovely Robin accompanied me to a performance of The Life and Death of King John at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in downtown Cincinnati.
I love me some Shakespeare, and even more a chance to witness this seldom-produced play in the Bard's canon. I was not disappointed at all. In fact, this is one of the strongest outings I've seen performed by the CSC.
King John was youngest son of Henry II (of “Lion in Winter” fame), the brother of Richard the Lionheart, and the despised "Prince John" of Robin Hood fame.
Though King John is considered one of (perhaps THE) weakest of Shakespeare's dramas, the CSC made it a rollicking night of sword fights, romance, betrayal, loyalty, and intrigue.
One of the joys of regularly attending the CSC's presentations is discovering the adaptations: Romeo and Juliet as an interracial couple, Much Ado in a hippie setting, and All's Well That Ends Well in World War II Europe. But this presentation of King John, as reviewer Jackie Demaline put it, "is full steam ahead costume drama (with a huge, fur-bedecked wardrobe by Heidi Jo Schiemer) sturdily directed by Brian Isaac Phillips."
Chris Guthrie stood out in the play's meatiest role, that of Phillip, the bastard son of John’s brother Richard. Corinne Mohlenhoff's Act II soliloquy was pitch-perfect and thoroughly moving. Jeff Groh's Hubert and (a personal favorite of mine and Robin's) Lauren Shively's Blanche were well-cast and well-played.
“King John,” continues through Feb. 5 at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, 719 Race St., downtown (513-381-2273 and www.cincyshakes.com). You should see it while you can. This is one play that doesn't come around often.
Welcome to this repository of Bob’s travels and experiences hither and yon. Mostly yon. With a little hither thrown in from time to time. And, as opportunity presents, even some thither.
The Lane website features a searchable collection of Jim Blount's articles on such varied subjects as Aviation, Bridges, Canals, Courthouses, Crime Legends, Congress, Governors, Great Miami River, Hamilton Public Transit, Horses, Hydaulic Canals, Ice Industry, Interurban Lines, Law Enforcement Deaths, Mounuments, Railroads, Roads & Highways.
Posts
