Predicting the weather is an inexact science.  And, since it is January, the only thing we can predict is that the weather is unpredictable.  Recent history demonstrates this clearly. The Great Blizzard of ’78 lasted from Wednesday, January 25 through Friday, January 27, 1978.  “As the storm headed for Ohio, it was “of unprecedented magnitude”,… Read More »

Landscapes are dotted across the American horizon with iconic architecture.  One glimpse of a picture and you know immediately where the picture was taken just by identifying the structure.  The White House, Mt. Rushmore, The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, and the Gateway Arch are just a few of those recognizable… Read More »

Today’s National Calendar celebration is a moratorium on mundane minutia.  We dare not trivialize the significance of this day.  It’s a day to break out insipid amounts of irrelevant data, hidden hunks of history, fun facts, and a cornucopia of curious quotes. Today is National Trivia Day! Several game shows test the knowledge of contestants… Read More »

He was the seventh of seven children born to Sam and Nancy.  He didn’t seem to be exceptionally scholastic, lasting only a few months in school before an administrator labeled him as “addled.”1  This infuriated his mother who pulled him from school and decided to homeschool him long before homeschooling was a thing. By the… Read More »

In 1733, a group of Europeans led by James E. Oglethorpe created a permanent North American settlement called Savannah.  Spain also wanted to lay claim to this territory and in 1742, Oglethorpe defeated the Spanish armies, laying claims to the territory for Great Britain. As tensions rose between England and the colonies, the Savannah territory… Read More »

Welcome to a brand new year!!  It’s hard to imagine that it’s 2025.  This will be the year – Lord willing – that I enter my 58th year.  Oh, the things I’ve seen in 58 years!  Those who are older have seen much more.  As I thought about this, some things came to mind: April… Read More »

I wonder how many today feel like the rabbit in Alice In Wonderland.  With great franticness, he says: I’m late! I’m late!  For a very important date!  No time to say “Hello”, goodbye! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late! And, when I wave I lose the time I save. My fuzzy ears and… Read More »

Usually around the holidays and the turn of a year, the obituary page of the newspaper is full.  Out of curiosity, we might peruse this section, taking notice with some gratitude that our name doesn’t appear.  Wouldn’t that be a shocker if it did?!?  Then, we might carefully scan the names and the family connection… Read More »

Port Clinton, Ohio residents Beverly Schwind and Sue Donner may have been an issue for some in the 1970s who suffered from coulrophobia.  Do you have coulrophobia?  This phobia is the fear of clowns and Beverly and Sue were known to northwest Ohio on Toledo 11 as Patches and Pockets. Back then, children loved clowns. … Read More »

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  In 1923-1924, these words were inserted into legislation by the National Flag Conference.  The text was written anonymously in 1892 by Francis Bellamy and published in The Youth’s Companion. “Congress formally gave recognition… Read More »