Dog Days

We're there, the Dog Days of Summer. But why are they called The Dog Days? I heard that on the radio station and wondered...

Ok, I learned that the DDoS are generally considered to be the hottest and most humid days in the northern hemisphere. That's reportedly from July 1 through Sept. 4, although some references say August 11th. At the rate Ohio is going, let's shoot for that 9/4 date. It's stinkin' hot and humid here. By most accounts I've read, the name applies to the dog star Sirius which is highly visible at this time. Remember astrology and Canis Major and Minor? Well, that's what I've read anyway.

In my opinion, someone looked at their dog taking a nap in the shade on a hot July day and coined the phrase, Dog Days. After all, we all want to emulate the canine. We want to curl up with our cool water, in the shade, and take a nap. Or we hide in the air conditioning if we can...

Face it. It's not fit weather for man nor beast. Hey, the phrase works for winter as well as summer in my book.
Why do you think they issue those weather heat advisories? So people won't do stupid things like try to run ten miles during the blazing heat of the day! If you do, expect to end up in my ER.

Admittedly, I've never been a fan of extremely hot and humid weather. I've always been a migraine sufferer and this type of weather always exacerbated the condition. Fortunately, I'm pain free this summer (fingers crossed) due to a new prophylactic medication that I take daily.

However, that aside, I still detest this weather. I hate waking at 5 AM and feeling sticky, inside of air conditioning! You can never seem to get cool. You always feel greasy. Even inside air conditioning the humidity is horrid. It's downright gross.

It's nearly 10pm and it's 84 degrees with 81% humidity and a heat index of 94 degrees and no breeze. Yuck. I know the dog is outside lounging in the back yard. Maybe it's time to go out, lounge in my air chair and study the stars.

Let's see...now where is Canis Major?

Dawn

Yellow Springs

Ever wonder about the places you see all the time but never stop to contemplate? Well, I did today...

I grew up in Xenia Ohio, just south of the Village of Yellow Springs and now I reside to the north in Springfield. Certainly, I've traveled along Rt.68 several thousand times in my life and through this little village of 4000 people. Today was no different other than I started thinking about it and decided to look up some facts. Hey, I'm all about learning new things. Now it's time for Yellow Springs 101. Ready?

At the left is a picture of THE yellow springs for which the town gets its name. It's right outside the village and was once touted for its healing properties. It's also a refreshing place to linger on a muggy July Ohio day!

Those of you not from this region may have reason to know of Yellow Springs as it is the home Antioch College. Some notable graduates are Coretta Scott King and Rod Serling. YSO is also the home of comedian Dave Chappelle and birthplace of actor John Lithgow. Both had parents that were instructors at Antioch.

One website states that YS is a BLUE spot in a Red state. I'd buy that. It's always been known for being ultra liberal and very diverse. Think hippy artist colony. Not just in the 60's but today as well. Vegetarianism has long been accepted and catered to by local establishments. That goes back way before being a veg as vogue.
The community is pro-environmental, multicultural, and eclectic. You need only look at a community bulletin board to see all of the offerings in the small burg.

The footprint of the town may be just over a half mile long, but it really packs a punch when it comes to prominent issues. The town is known for being very accepting of all races, cultures, and was one of the first small villages to pass legislation stating that there would be no discrimination against same gender couples. That was back in '79, I believe. Homosexuality and inter-racial marriage is accepted. It's a community that sees past the shell and into the people underneath.

People trek to, flock to, YSO. On weekends especially. People crowd the streets searching the unique shops for treasures while others shop the farmers' market. And if you're not doing that, you're likely on the bike path doing your miles on rollerblades, bikes, or on foot. Or, you're sampling some of the unique cuisine you can only find at HaHa Pizza or Peaches or The Gypsy Cafe or The Winds or...well, you get the idea.

What you won't find within the city limits of YSO are chain restaurants and there is only one on the outskirts of town at that. However, if you ever find yourself in the region, you really have to make a stop at Youngs' Jersey Dairy just north of town. Mmmmm....bull shakes and cow pattie ice cream. Trust me on this. They're marvelous.

Oh, and if you drop through, hit the other area attractions like The Clifton Mill, The Clifton Gorge, John Brian State Park, and Glen Helen. All are just a couple of miles outside of this charming little place known as Yellow Springs.
Dawn

Technology II

In response to Laura's comment to the 7/28 posting...

Music. A favorite venue.
Movies. Another.

Back in the day (thanks Dane, I know that it was a Wednesday), you knew what 16,33,45, and 78's referred to. The slang term vinyl is not lost on you. You're familiar with the concept of a stylus and needles and that little yellow widget that let you play 45's on a 33 center post. (What are those darned things called anyway?) In my far off youth, portable stereo phonographs were such a rage. I'd note here that if you owned a console model you were considered very well off indeed. I remember my Dad's portable so well. I should, he still has it and yes, it works. It was one of the tabletop models where the lid was also the speaker. Oh the hours of enjoyment we had with that.

My how times changed. Now, people don't go in for those clunkers or the component stereos like we did in the 70's and 80's. Unless, of course, you're a collector of antiquities. Ouch. I still have my big Fisher system, but I seldom us it. Needles are so blasted hard to find these days! Well, so are records. We've progressed, moved on, and changed our tune. We went from those old 'record players' to the short lived 8-track, to cassette tapes, to CD players and IPods. We listen to music on our computers as we stream live music. Progress indeed.

While we're here, let's talk about sound recording a second. Remember reel-to-reel recorder/players? We had one. So did my girlfriend Bobbi. Did you carry a portable cassette recorder to classes in college in the seventies? I did. Now we've gone to handheld mini-tape recorders and even tiny microrecorders that will fit on a key chain. And, of course, there is electronic voicemail. More progress.

What about movies? Use to be, the only place you could catch a flick was at the movie house. Then, someone started copying those for home use. We never had a Betamax...it was so short lived. I bought my first VCR in 1980. A Panasonic that I still own. Now that seems to be passe and DVD is the rage. They're even portable now and all the rage for youngsters. But for how long? What comes next?

Have you noticed how things are always changing? Yes, change is the only constant. All of these devices got smaller and faster and easier to use. Well, unless you actually program your DVD...and watch that on your giant, big screen TV...

Yes, even our communications devices are portable and hand held. We've talked about phones previously, but what about our email on the go? On your phone or your Blackberry.

Technology. Maybe the creator of the Jetsons really was a visionary. Or an engineer...
Dawn

Technology

Thoughts provoked by the Bactec 9240, my cell phone, and my digital camera...

Ever take the time to reflect on just how much impact technology has had on our lives? Or maybe I should say our changing technology? It's nothing in this century to work at computers as well as have them in our homes and sometimes, our satchels as we board a train or plane. We wouldn't think of heading out the door without our cell phones and often, the digital camera is also along for the ride. Now step back 30 years and take a look.

I got my first home computer in 1986. It was an IBM PS2/50. Back then, you connected to the primitive internet to CompuServe by way of an external Hayes modem and the net was basically a home shopping service. Are you old enough to remember working in DOS? Queing up a disc by typing in the command? Word processing without Works or Word? Floppy disks that were really floppy? Now we have computers that automatically do what we need and everything is done in the background with by clicking on a tiny picture. And don't ask me where the modem is in my computer and what kind it is. Oh, and for the record, I still use dial up but that too is a click of the mouse in ease.

A phone has always been a part of my life. Hey, I'm only 50 now! But, do you remember party lines and exchanges such as Murray Hill or Drake? For you youngsters who read this, a phone number would have been something like this...DR2-3974, with the letters corresponding to the numbers on your phone. Yeah, there are still letters on each number of a telephone, but you know, I had to look to be sure. You usually only had one phone, with a rotary dial, and were really big time when you got a private line. You were rich if you had more than one phone, too. Now it's nothing to have multiple phones, all push button, as well as every member of the family having a cell phone on them at all times.

I mentioned a Bactec 9240. It's a blood culture analyzer. In lay terms, we put media bottles with a patient's blood into this large, cabinet incubator/agitator, and for the next 5 days that instrument will automatically read the samples every 10 minutes to see if the patient has an infection in the blood. (Ok, for you techs out there, yeah, I left out some details. But I said in 'layman terms'.) Now, if I step back some 30 years, I remember the old tilt and eyeball method, which is quite primitive. Then, there were other analyzers, some using radioactive isotopes. I am amazed that I don't glow in the dark when I think of those things. Yet this is just one example of how far medical laboratories have come. The old chemistry machines that required a room for just the machine, 10 tubes of blood for 10 tests, and a day to run those same tests are, thankfully, a distant memory. Today, a single tube of blood could run 40-50 tests on a floor model analyzer that is the size of your large chest freezer, and do it in an hour. Truly amazing.

Now, I'm a technology fan. I love my newest acquisition, a digital camera. It was a present from my hubby for that milestone 50th birthday. Camera and printer dock. What fun. I've captured some great moments, a trip to Philly, my daughter's recent visit home, my son and his girlfriend, the folks, and a host of other interesting sites. My favorite part is the fact that you can see the picture you just took. Uhh...remember Polaroids? I've owned a host of cameras in my life, now that I think on it. A brownie, a Kodak teleinstamatic, a disc, a Polaroid, a Nikon 35mm, a super 8 movie camera, and now this little gem. Wow.

Remember the old cartoons? The Jetsons come to mind. Ok, so we don't use flying machines for our daily commute to work or our vacation trips, not that I wouldn't mind for some of those longer trips, but some of the other things you see on those cartoons are now common parts of our lives. And just when we think we've seen it all, something new presents itself for our amusement or amazement.

I'm thinking that robot vacuum looks promising. Maybe Christmas??

Dawn

Doing the Unexpected

People might think me predictable...until they meet my Gemini twin...

At first sight, people may think me a typical, working, middle class wife and mother. Raised in small town middle America, that assumption at one time may have been correct. Yet, I've always been just a tad off the beaten path in comparison to many of my friends. For example, I was far older mentally than my years. Raised an only child and generally around a predominance of adults, it was only natural that certain aspects of my personality would be more mature. I could hold a highly intelligent conversation with any adult by the age of 10. But that only child thing also left me a bit introverted, but only in the early couple of decades. It was during that period that I cultivated this writing gene.

By the age of twenty I was working in a hospital and had seen more gruesome sights than many of you have likely ever seen in the horror movies. Real life is often far more horrific than fantasy. Trust me here. I quickly grew out of the introvert stage when faced with demanding doctors and the fact that I was pretty damned good at what I did. Finding your niche really adds to the confidence factor.

Then came that wife and mother phase I mentioned. Oh, I stayed in the field of Microbiology, but I branched out away from my writing and experimented with stained glass and other art forms. I still practice those art forms, but the computer has since captured my attentions, and along with it...the reawakening of my writing.

Early in this decade I discovered a writing list that goes back to those teenage years and allows me to once again create fiction that pleases me. And I can share it with these other folks because we share this mutual interest. In the process, I've met some incredible people, made some wonderful lifelong friends, and traveled to new and interesting places. It was a leap of faith initially to venture into this arena and one that I've been thankful for taking since day one.

If you had told me thirty years ago that I would be traipsing off to festivals or meeting a 'second family' through my writing, I'd have thought you in need of psychiatric counseling. Yet, here I am and that's exactly what I'm doing.

My friends at work wonder about this Dawn that they thought they all knew. Seems they didn't know me quite as well as they thought. I think that some of them secretly envy my up and go vacations and the fact that I have some absolutely unbelievable friends in very diverse professions. I know the fact that I take a vacation with some of them as a girls' holiday seems incongruous to some of my female coworkers. They haven't gotten past the 'let's pack up the whole family and drive down to Myrtle Beach...again' mentality. (But then, in all fairness, my husband's profession hasn't lent itself to family vacations for several years now and I earn several weeks a year. His response if 'go, have fun, enjoy...you work hard for the time off.')

Well, I rather like doing the unexpected. Being different, I discovered very long ago, is a good thing. It's not a cookie cutter world out here. Why should I fit into someone else's preconceived mold?
Dawn

Simple beauty

Inspired by a black and white photo of wheat...

How often do we really take the time to stop and 'smell the roses'? And when we do, do we actually see the rose? Do we take the time to appreciate the colors or the delicacy of the flower?

Seeing this one, beautifully simple print of the ripe, ready to harvest wheat, made me focus on the environment around me for a little while. It's a fertile time here in the Midwest and in the fast pace of daily life, it passes by with barely a glance. Suddenly, I was drawn to pay attention to the flowers, the bees, and the wildflowers at the side of the busy highway. There is a bounty of Queen Anne's lace this year. I drive this one major roadway at least twice a week and this was the first time lately that I've noticed that the sunflower field is nearly ready to bloom. When did that happen?

And when did the corn get taller than me?

I noticed today that the bloom-forevers are just starting to flower. The belief is that the first frost is six weeks from the time these flower. From personal experience, it's a fairly accurate predictor.

Frost? Yes, it creates its own brand of simple, lacy beauty on whatever it touches, but I'm not ready to go there yet! So what if the ragweed will cause the hay fever to flare in the coming weeks? It's short term and there are any number of pharmaceuticals to ease the discomfort.

All of these examples of summer beauty are so short lived and winter is SO long that I think I'll make time to go out along the byways a bit more frequently in the days ahead.

In today's world, it's just so hard to find such simple beauty. And just think...it's free!
Dawn

Painful Remembrance

July 25th is never an easy day for me. At least, not in the past 37 years it hasn't been. You see, today is the anniversary of my grandfather's death. And I still cry after all these years...

I once wrote a poem entitled Grandpa's Shadow. I still think of myself in those terms. Even now. My Grandpa Currey was bigger than life to this, then, shy and introverted child and there was no denying that I was his favorite. My cousin Deb controlled Grandma's heartstrings and the string to Grandpa was tied around my little finger.

It's not hard to understand really. We had so much in common. Or maybe I just developed interests that pleased him. I've never quite been sure on that score. We spent countless hours together in the garden or the rosebeds or the berry patch. I can remember snuggling next to him in his giant recliner to watch the news. I'd be there in the early morning to join him in a cup of 'coffee' as Grandma prepared his shot of insulin. (Hey, there's something to this name of mine. I've been a 6am or earlier riser all of my life!) I would surmise that much of my love of coffee, strawberries, and roses stems from this early relationship.

One of my fondest remembrances is of sitting on the massive counter at Chenowith Motors, where my Grandpa was parts manager, my uncle the chief mechanic, and my the aunt was the secretary. There was a phenomenal book that had hundreds of pages, each section in a different color, with lines and lines of numbers referring to parts and their locations or order numbers. My grandpa would rattle off a color, a long number string of 10 or 12 digits, and I'd proceed to sit there, find it, and hold my finger on the spot until he returned. Then, he'd call back to my uncle and tell him what row and bin held the part. People standing there would be in awe. I think I was maybe six. I didn't care that they were impressed...I cared that Grandpa was pleased and I felt like I was helping. I guess, in a way, I was.

In 1969, that age of innocence ended. I awoke on a steamy morning to find my mother fully dressed in dress clothes, not her usual summer housedress. I instantly knew that something was wrong. I assumed Grandpa had been hospitalized again for either his heart or his sugar. The last thing I was prepared to hear was of his death. A stroke in the middle of the night claimed him. At 13 I faced my first funeral that I could remember.

Some good did come from that pain. I was better prepared for my Grandmother's death 15 months later and the coroner's report some time later that detailed how she had taken her life. I was able to be there, hold my Mother, and face her pain as an adult, despite my numberical age. And, perhaps, I could relate to the depth of despair my Grandma had experienced by losing this man, her obvious soulmate. By the time I was 16, I would stand strong when my girlfriend's 13 year old sister died a slow and painful death.

Although it's painful to remember all this, I have to be happy too. My Grandpa shaped me in ways he could never have imagined. I believe that the numerous years I spent in and around hospitals due to his health issues contributed to my choice of careers. I was drawn to labs and what they did. In '66 when Grandpa had his lung removed to cancer, I experienced the state of the art Kettering Hospital. I was hooked. He never lived to know this, but I suspect he would be beyond proud.

I can still hear his voice and I can still conjure his image in my mind's eye. Good thing, because the tears in my baby blues make it difficult to see this screen clearly. What's hardest? Never having the chance to say goodbye. The last time I saw him was on his 65th birthday, 10 days prior. I know I told him 'I love you' and said goodbye then. But I never suspected it would be the final farewell.

Roy Clifford Currey 7/15/1904-7/25/1969

Dawn

'To live in the hearts, we leave behind, is not to die.'

Cuban Fusion 101

Today, my daughter starts to work at Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia. Yes, in the kitchen, doing pastry. Since that's what she went to school for, I think this a very good thing. She's excited and happy which makes Mom very pleased and proud.

But, what exactly is Cuban Fusion cuisine? I would guess there's a Cuban flavor. (I'm not that slow guys.) But, fusion? Fused with what? The American palate? Scary when you think about the US diet and all the burgers, fries, and pizza that are consumed. Cuban burgers? Spicy fries?

Yes, I'm making jest. I know that anything developed by Starr is far past that. I know that it has to be trendy, high quality and fabulous. Still, the term tickles my funny bone every time I think of it.

No doubt I'll learn far more than I ever hoped to know about this topic since Laura will be working there. And, that also tells me that Mom will have to check the place out the next time she's in the City of Brotherly Love. Not a bad thing since I'm always up for a new gastronomic experience.

Road trip anyone?
Dawn

Variations on Verde

Driving to Xenia for church this morning, I recalled a recent discussion I had with my daughter while she was home from Philadelphia. For those living in the concrete jungle, the vast open spaces of the Ohio countryside are a stark contrast and almost an assault to the senses. Seeing skyscrapers, brownstones, cement and an occasional patch of blue sky, you tend to forget what nature is doing outside of the city.

Today, it struck me anew how many degrees there are to the color green. Now, it's July in Ohio. Everything is green. Trees, grass, weeds, corn, beans, and the edges of many ponds, are green. But it's not all the same green. There is the deep dark, almost black-green of some of the native pines contrasted against the blue-green of the blue spruces. The green of the grass is different from yard to yard and no two weeds seem to possess the same pigment combination of blue and yellow. And then, there is the silver green of the maple leaves when the leaves invert with an approaching storm.

It's really quite breathtaking to crest a ridge and gaze over the fields to the far off horizon and see the vast range of the color green. It's a feast for the eyes as well as the soul. It's refreshing.

But it isn't easy being green. Soon, all too soon, the hot dry weather will claim our green oasis and turn it brown and brittle. Then, those leaves will turn to shades of yellows, golds, and reds before they succumb to winter's approach, but it will be all too brief.

As much as I despise heat and humidity, I'm just not yet ready to contemplate the shades of snow as it passes from fresh, crisp white into something far less attractive. I'll stick with the variations on green for quite a bit longer, thank you.
Dawn

The Importance of Friends

It never ceases to amaze me how people come and go throughout our lives and in some of the most intriguing ways. Think about your friends. Were you school chums? Meet in college? At a job? Through the net?

I attended a retirement dinner for a colleague this past week, a fellow I've worked with for over a quarter century. He also happens to be married to one of my best chums from high school. We all worked together at one point, were all single and in our early twenties when we started at the hospital, and he was a great fellow to go out with. (Yes, we dated a bit.) Shortly after I met my hubby to be, we had a Christmas party, both M and A were unattached and not wanting to go alone, so I suggested they go together. They were married the week before my son was born. We've all remained close throughout the years and I don't expect that to change too much since they live in my hometown.

These days, my friends are a far more diverse lot. I still have my dearest friend from high school, Gina, and Robin from college, but the people I now consider the core of my friends are an eclectic group I travel with and have met on the internet through an old, gothic soap opera and a deceased actress. Crazy but true. What is so amazing about these friendships is how diversely different our backgrounds are yet how parallel our lives can be. Geographically, most of us are 500 or more miles apart, except for a couple of my buddies who also happen to hail from the Buckeye state. Oddly enough, the ones further away I tend to see more or speak to more than those who live within the boundaries of the state. Go figure.

My dearest friend, one who is like my older sister, lives in Philadelphia. The only time were don't fire 20 emails off during a day is when she's on another continent. If I have younger sisters, they live in Georgia and Virginia. Georgia is my writing partner in crime and Virginia is our muse. Great gals.

The importance of these people, outside of my family? They aren't outside my family. They are a part of my larger family and I thank God every day. Sometimes when I need to vent or share, I know they're out there, an email or a phone call away. Even if I don't write or call, I know they're there if I need them. And they know where to find me too.

I feel sorry for people who haven't sought out friends who aren't 'just like themselves.' It's far more interesting to have friends who are different from anyone you've known before because of their origins or their nationality or their religion or their profession. It expands your horizons, broadens the mind, and enriches your soul. The past five years of my life attest to that statement.

So what got me onto this post? Emails. Tonight. From four of the mighty 12 that I have a special bond to and will be spending a few days with in NYC in late August. Yup, looking forward to seeing the lawyer, the doctor, the president (hehe), the Fed, the librarian, my southern Buckeye buddy......

Dawn

Expanding horizons

Since both of my children and several of my friends have entered the world of daily blog diaries, I though it only fitting that the writer head that way as well. This is something new for me, focusing on my own thoughts and revelations. I've written fiction for so long that I wonder if I can actually do this. We'll see, won't we?