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In grade school at IC, we had fire drills. Two by two, orderly and strictly supervised by the OSJ's. Tornado drills were reduced to shutting windows and doors, and shutting off the lights.

There is a film produced by an acquaintance, Jayne Loder, called Atomic Cafe, that has a lot of footage of the 'duck and cover' kids diving under their desks in their classrooms, to a catchy tune entitled 'Duck and Cover'. I think when I first saw the footage, it seemed familiar some way. We may have seen some sort of training films as youngsters, and were imprinted with that memory. Who knows? It was certainly a forgetful and stupid exercise. Later I heard, from a reliable source, that was all a waste of time. That the best position to be in, in a nuclear attack was, sitting on the floor, with your head between your legs, so you can easily kiss your ass good-bye.

Today I'm thankful I'm not sitting on the floor.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I'm making a pizza. Mmmmm!

11/22/18 04:36 PM

#4367

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

I'm thankful for "Oystas" - fresh outta that May River behind us (local guy, Johnny Mercer's inspiration for a little song he wrote called "Moon River". Maybe you've heard of it.)

And for next-door neighbors who host a big "oysta" roast every "yeah" with jiss 'bout 60 of their closest freeinds. Muddy glove (or dish towell) on left hand (to keep from slitting your hand open on the shells and "Oysta" knife in right hand to pry them open after steaming in a tank. Dip in suace, drink kept handy near bye and a few dozen other snack dishes up on de screen potch. My neighbor on the right is almoss 80 - he don' need no glove no moah - been doin' it all his life.

First time I did it with them (almost 17 years ago) I thought I can do this - no glove, no towell. I slit my finger open so bad on the shell I had to go in my house and get a band-aide. Came back out and thought, "I got this". I'll be more careful this time. Slit my other finger so badly I had to go back in and get another band-aide.

I caved. Proud to admit I ain't "got this". Glove or towell only for this little Yankee boy now. But the oysters from "the May" are to die for! And when you get a big one you git ta' slurp all dat extra juice right out de shell. Talk about nectar of the gods!

Just throw the spent shell though the hole in the table to a big plastic bushel basket below, an grab you another one.

No clock, no limit. Pry shell open - dip in sauce - eat - slurp juice - repeat. Heaven!

11/23/18 11:43 AM

#4368

Mark Schweickart

Dave -- Hey, Yankee boy, I love the way your accent has changed.

11/24/18 09:14 AM

#4369

GO BUCKS BEAT BLUE!!!

https://youtu.be/bS5IKFM4AzI

11/24/18 10:38 AM

#4370

I got an uneasy feelin' about today's game.

Some famous SEC coach back in the 40's (I think) had rather memorable quote; "Touchdowns follow blocking and tackling as sure as day follows night."

It'd be nice if we could see some tackling today (for a change).

11/24/18 01:39 PM

#4371

OOOOOPS !

11/24/18 02:25 PM

#4372

Timothy Lavelle

Early third quarter....what a fantastic game so far.

Fingers & toes & eyes crossed!

11/24/18 03:02 PM

#4373

Doctor: "Take 2 touchdowns and call me in the morning."

Patient: "Thanks Doc. I feel better already."

11/24/18 04:30 PM

#4374

So, 62 points against the best defense in the country is a good thing - right?

11/26/18 08:42 AM

#4375

Still savoring that wonderful win.

I have a sister who can't even watch the game, she gets so wired up about it.

I have to admit I kept it at a distance myself this year, then watched the second half.

Beating that team up north is always a good thing. But this - given the weirdness of the season, the torment Urban Meyer has been through, the fact that we were underdogs, the hope that our rival had that THIS would finally be the turning point, the opportunity to play the spoiler and shut down their chance at a national championship -- all those factors made this one of the sweetest wins EVAR. It's so remarkable to be living through such an unexpected stretch of dominance over a team that ruined many an afternoon for me back through that dark stretch of the seventies. They ruined a decade for us. We're ruining a century for them.

11/26/18 10:57 AM

#4376

I cannot begin to express how thankful I am that that Ohio State Buckeye footballers continued their winning streak versus the University of Michigan Wolverines. Being a Michigan alum, it of course is a bitter pill. But, having drunk the koolaid at such an early age, I'm still proud to be a Buckeye. However, I believe my loyalty is to the rivalry now that M can't hail a victory. As Harbaugh morphs into John Cooper, the whole state is losing their religion. The rivalry is in jeopardy of losing its cache. If it turns out Urban Meyer steps down because of his frail health, and the Buckeye brain trust hires the current Iowa State coach to replace him, there will be a lot of dissapointed farmers in Ames. Remember you heard it here first. The interesting thing is Purdue. Thats like the loss to the Hokies back in '13. How much of a factor that is remains to be seen. Duh. And by the by, Northwestern, aka champions of the west, are headed to Indianapolis to see if they can upset the Buckeroos dreams of global domination. I know it's just a game. Yeah a game that drives half or more of Oh io's economy, and ecology. I'm such a fan, I even have a toilet seat that says "go bucks". Now as you read this you may think me crazy. But as I said I've lived in this state since 1973, my children were born here and hell yes I went to the dreaded school up north. So, is it any wonder I sound conflicted. I expect no reply, consistant to amy other contribution I've made here. But if you'd like to weigh in be my guest. I'll take any constructive comments except "go bucks." And please send your checks to me care of Make Michigan Great Again. Lets get that rivalry back on track and bring joy back to the football orphans of Michigan.

11/26/18 12:35 PM

#4377

Wether good results or bad, I am reminded of the sage words of an old confidant of mine, one Doctor Keith Groff, who offered me this thought years ago during one of those "darker" periods. He said, "Dave, remember, though many may not realize it, there really is life after the Michigan game.

I hope I can remember that when times are not so good.

And Jack,

How in the H did you end up going there? Is there a story here? Some dark secret you need to share with us?

And did I actually see a spelling error from our Orlando scribe? Saints preserve us !

11/26/18 07:26 PM

#4378

Jack:

You're dead to me.

Dave: NEVAR!

11/26/18 09:53 PM

#4379

Simply said Michael. But I've always been dead to you. Ever since you put that party announcement with my Neil Ave. address on the doors of all the bars on High St. back in '67. Who does that? Psycho! I had every bum in Columbus, show up all night. Then, around 1:30, a whole fraternity showed up at my back door. Of course all the brothers were brothers. I learned a lot about race relations, hippies and how to deal with street people drunk and high. And I have you to thank for that. Some day I will return the favor. You didn't even stick around to see the results of you choice. I don't blame Dunn, because he would not think of such a cruel joke. But he did abet you in that little prank. I gave you a pass because i always felt sorry for you when you suffered that concussion in grade school. I always thought it made you crazy and that was why you did stuff like that. I channelled all the resentment I felt that night to my job at McDonald's where I worked for three days. I quit after three days because I got tired of smelling like a quarter pounder. Then I moved to Canton, and became a human punching bag. But I learned an honest trade and worked as a lineman before and after the Army gig. Looking back at that night you pulled your prank, it was a definitive moment in my life, a sort of self realization of who I was and what I was capable of accomplishing. You still owe me for bailing you out of more than one sticky situation on a weekend night on campus. We were pretty nuts, but you brought a whole new dimension to aberrant behavior. Fond memories from a dead man.

11/27/18 11:01 AM

#4380

Damn, Jack.

Just damn.

Hell of a long time later to apologize, but that's all I can do.

And I've apologized enough times to know that you can't expect forgiveness. It's not a given. That's the sucky thing about apologizing. There's a certain helplessness involved.

11/27/18 12:30 PM

#4381

Michael, awe, no need for apologies. Like I indicated, it was a pretty profound experience, and one that was useful later in life. Another fond memory I have from those days, was the time we hitched to Cleveland and saw the first and only, to my knowledge, NFL double header at Cleveland Municiple Stadium. Do you remember the card? The Browns vs. Packers, Frank Ryan vs. Bart Starr. And, the Vikings vs. Falcons. I remember the tickets were like 8 bucks. After the games, we stayed at the Colonial hotel on Euclid Ave. Next day we hitched to Ceder Point for a fun filled day. And who could forget our restful night at the Eerie hotel. I think it was 5 bucks a night. The pastic mattress covers were a nice touch. Dude we had a lot of fun on that trip. But if anyone should apopogise it should be me. For what ever I did to provoke you and Dave to ditch me in the country that one time. I suspected Dave was crazy when he raced that train to the crossing nearly killing us. I felt that was a needless stunt. I must have been the intolerable one..but in the end, as the sayin goes, what ever doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger. So, I actually should thank you and Dunn for making me strong, and not killing me. Mark and Brian, on the other hand, are another story. The friendships we formed in school have weathered the test of time. They are special memories, and as I've said before, they haunt my reverie. I still love all you guys. And that's what counts.
Jack
No, I'm not suffering from a terminal desease.

11/27/18 04:49 PM

#4382

We did do crazy stuff.

There's a wonderful Bruce Springsteen song called Bobby Jean.

And it's about a guy who hears that an old girlfriend of his from high school has moved away.

It's very simple, just a very simple song that captures that particular time of life when you are first making friends and thinking you are immortal, and there is this line it it:

"We said that we were wild, the wildest things we'd ever seen."

And that was what we had back then: wildness. It was foolish, so many of the things we did. But then you look back on them, thinking foolishness isn't all that bad, and maybe you miss it in yourself, at least a little.

11/27/18 10:18 PM

#4383