3181 The President's foster children

"Hispanics now dominate the federal Women, Infants, and Children free food program; Hispanic enrollment grew over 25 percent from 1996 to 2002, while black enrollment dropped 12 percent and white enrollment dropped 6.5 percent. Illegal immigrants can get WIC and other welfare programs for their American-born children. If Congress follows President Bush’s urging and grants amnesty to most of the 11 million illegal aliens in the country today, expect the welfare rolls to skyrocket as the parents themselves become eligible."
Hispanic Family Values

3180 Wow. That's a flush!

The plumber was here about 5.5 hours today--replaced four faucet fixtures, and two toilets, plus found a problem I noticed in the repair he did the other day. Might have to float a loan, ha ha. I know life's not perfect, but when we're paying this kind of money, I'd sort of like things to work, wouldn't you? I wrote about our new, water saving, swift flushing toilets here.

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk composing the blog about our library's collection of anti-Christian stuff, and he was about 6 feet from me installing the toilet. Each time he flushed it he'd say, "Wow. That's a flush." Isn't it nice when your job still has surprises? He also asked me if we bought the handicap model, but I assured him this is called "comfort height" because it is for grown-ups, not children.

Teensy problem. The tank isn't as wide as the old model and we'll have to find the paint and touch up the wall (painted in 2004), because we have about 6 inches of old wallpaper and paint showing.

Just in time for the new toilets, my husband isn't feeling good and cancelled his trip to the lake to rake leaves at our summer home. So we'll do the birthday stuff (our children are 12 months and 3 days apart) on Thanksgiving day. My kids have had more birthday celebrations than I ever had with my parents, so doubling up one year won't hurt. Another year or so, and they won't even want to be reminded!

3179 Why I won't be supporting the library levy

Our library board is planning to put a levy on the May ballot. Big plans. Coffee shop. Business center and other amenities. Some are questioning why the library needs to compete with services already available. But that's not my reason--even though I think that's as frivolous as the new drive-through book drop they recently installed. It's the collection. And call me crazy, but that's the bottom line in judging a library's value.

The Upper Arlington Public Library was fourth of 933 libraries in its categories in a recently released national ranking. The director says the strategic plan is "explore, gather and grow." Well, show me, Ann Moore, why your staff is so intent on denigrating a large group in the community rather than growing a balanced collection that serves everyone. We have a fabulous gay and lesbian collection--even for juveniles; all you could ever want about Elvis Presley and the Beatles; wiccans and witchcraft, check; everything high-tech, computer or digital is at our finger tips; and we can cook from now 'til Martha and Rachel come home.

Unfortunately, the UAPL also excels in Christian bashing. The VTLS turn-key online-catalog is extremely difficult to browse. But just go to the new bookshelf and see a collection so biased and so one-sided, that church members should be embarrassed to say we are in partnership by supporting them with our tax money.

UAPL collects almost nothing in the religion area that I as a conservative, evangelical Christian would ever read--virtually nothing on denominations, history, theology, apologetics, service, inner life, hymnody, biography or business--unless written liberals or mainliners. But it has a stunning collection of anti-Christian, political harangues and diatribes.

Here's a brief sample for just 2005 and 2006, but I have a much longer list--over 2 pages of author, title, publisher, date:

Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, by Michelle Goldberg, W.W. Norton, 2006. 2 copies

The hijacking of Jesus : how the religious right distorts Christianity and promotes violence and hate, by Dan Wakefield, Nation Books, 2006

The Christian right or wrong; exposing corrupt teachings. . . by John Card, Blue Dolphin, 2004. 1 copy (a reprint on the new book shelf in 2006)

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, by Kevin Phillips, Viking, 2006, 6 copies + audio.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, UAPL appeared to purchase every anti-Bush administration book published--and the market was flooded. A survey of librarians done in 2004 reported that they were 224:1 Democrat to Republican! They are frustrated social engineers on a sacred mission. Librarians make Hollywood and the ACLU look like the John Birch Society! UAPL may have the best Michael Moore collection in the country.

When the Democrats lost the election in 2004, publishers began issuing anti-Christian books because pundits decided conservative Christians had put a not-particularly-conservative president over the top. UAPL staff have searched the booklists high and low, and found even privately published or obscure publishers to include with multiple copies, regular, large print and audio! Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly's latest title has 11 people in line waiting to read it.

Although it's extremely difficult to evaluate a collection on the basis of subject headings (UAPL doesn’t assign them and whoever does has no quality filter or indexing smarts), let's just take a look. I'm pointing out here the religious conservative headings--there are no corresponding subject terms for mainline Protestants, or liberal Christianity. It's possible that conservative Christians don't write that much about liberal Christians or maybe UAPL doesn't buy them if they do. Other subject headings are all anti-conservative Christian except where noted. Some authors bashed both liberals and conservatives, but they were few. All of these have overlaps and some books have more than 1 or 2 subject headings.

23 Christianity and politics--United States. (2 of the titles were written by conservatives--other 21 were all anti-conservative and/or anti-Christian)
1 Christianity and politics--United States--Controversial literature.
4 Christianity and politics--United States--History.

7   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity.
5   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--Controversial literature.
3   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--20th century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--20th century--Congresses
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History--21st century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines--20th century.
1   Conservatism--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Fundamentalism--this subject heading is large at UAPL with many subdivisions, and I won’t break it down. It speaks for itself.

6 Religious right.
1 Religious right--History.
5 Religious right--United States.
5 Religious fundamentalism--United States

If UAPL has missed something that marginalizes the right, I'm sure they'll correct their oversight if you ask.

3178 A blogger's rap

I'm working on a new poem based on my topics. Here's what I've got so far. 5 syllables, rhyming. Sort of a rap song without the crotch grabbing.

Kelo Kyoto
Kedwards Alito

Kerry Kennedy
Worst economy

Blind disabled poor
good news will outscore

Freepers and Pinkos
Congress's creepos

Bird flu and West Nile
Hillary's hairstyle

Economy soars
Oil drills offshore

Wal-Mart and Target
Libs are in orbit

Marching illegals
GOP stumbles

Patriot Act Fear
A L A severe*

Bipartisanship
They can't get a grip

Class warfare and hate
Media dictate.

Cloning and stem cell
Doublethink Orwell.

*The ALA is the American Library Association which keeps a closer eye on Bush than the democratic underground. Or is that redundant?

I won't quit my day job (don't have one).

3177 Yo mama wears combat boots

First hint of cool weather here and a lot of women are showing up in mid calf, stilleto heel boots. Look like instruments of torture to me ala the bound foot in imperial China. Can't imagine how hot (not that kind) they must be to work in all day. Do you suppose they kick them off unbind when they get to the office or classroom?

3176 Rudy, John and Newt

Dump 'em. Too much baggage. We'll never live down the "faith and values" finger pointing the way these guys treated their ex-wives. I thank Rudy and John for their service to the country when it was needed, and Newt has nice hair. Just don't ask me to vote for them. I'm sure there are men out there somewhere who haven't been unfaithful or married for political gain. How about Rick Santorum.

Thursday Thirteen

13 things about my learning disability

Today I'd planned to tell you about auditory dyslexia, but when I looked it up on the net, discovered that term doesn't apply to my learning disability. But it is auditory-something and I'll tell you about it.

1) When I read about this disability I was about 40 years old, and recognized immediately that the writer was describing me when I was in school. However, this is not a professional diagnosis, just my opinion.

2) I'd been reprimanded for not paying attention

3) for interrupting

4) for talking out of turn

5) for not following directions, particularly if there were multiple steps

6) for not being able to finish tasks when the other kids did, or doing it out of order, especially if the assignment was oral.

7) That writer called it auditory dyslexia (which makes some sense because the Greek word lexia root means word, but the term usually refers to reading). The writer said she compensated by taking notes, double checking and clarifying instructions by repeating them back. Today I found something similar called, "Auditory Processing Disorder."

8) It didn't significantly impact my academic success--I have a master's degree and was associate professor when I retired from Ohio State University and have published articles in journals. The APD site says the student has problems with reading and spelling and has low academic performance. That's not me.

9) I've always loved school, reading, learning and writing. I'm not tone deaf.

10) But the process is slow, disorganized and frustrating. My mind is always either ahead or behind what I'm hearing. It's like trying to drive while looking in the rear view or side mirror of the car knowing there's a lot of oncoming traffic. Taking notes is essential, but only helps a little, because usually I write down what I hear, which makes no sense when I read it later. Lots of prepositional phrases with no subject or predicate.

11) While reading about this problem in the 80s, I decided to try aerobic dance--hear it, see it, say it, dance it, to see if I could help my coordination work with my hearing. I'm not sure it helped, but I lost 20 pounds, learned a lot of dance steps, and got a job from the instructor.

12) The rate or speed of the spoken word is a problem. In a lecture, I'll usually miss all but the anecdotes; a sermon, which is usually slower, I might understand and remember 2 of the 3 points (a good sermon should have 3 points), but it will be gone by dinner unless I discuss it with someone. Conversation, which is slower than a speech or sermon, is much easier to grasp, but I also have facial cues and gestures for interpretation and memory aids. Committee reports are torture (although that may not be an auditory problem). Foreign accents don't bother me, but probably because those people are speaking slowly.

13) I can't repeat a 7 digit phone number or an e-mail address and will always ask you to repeat while I'm writing it down. In order to say my own number I have to think what it looks like, not what it sounds like. Spelling bees or hearing a word spelled is just gibberish to me.

So the next time you yell at your kid and say, "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" the answer might be yes and no, if by listening you mean understanding.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! Leave a comment and I'll add your name and URL. View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Visitors and visited:
Amy, Amy Blunders, BabyBlue, Barb, Barbara, Beckadoodles, Blessed Assurances, Brony, Bubba, Buttercup and Bean, Carey, Carmen, Caylynn, Chaotic Mom, Chelle Y., Cheryl, Cindy, CJ, Courtney, Dane, Danielle, Darla, Dawn, Denise, DK Raymer, Domestic Geek, Factor 10, Faerylandmom, Expressing myself, Firefly, Friday's Child, Gattina, Ghost, Irish Church Lady, It’s all about me, Jaime, Jane, Janeen, JB , Joan,, Joe, Joy Renee, Just Tug, Kate, Kathy, Kaye, Kelly,Kendra, Lady Bug, Lazy Daisy, Mrs. Lifecruiser, Lyndsay, Lynn, Ma, Mama Duck, Mar, C.A.Marks, Mary, May, Michelle, Mistress of the dark MommyBa, N.Mallory, Nat, Nathalie, Raggedy Randy, Ribbiticus, Shannon, The Shrone, Southern Girl, Sunny Days, Susan, Tammy, Titanium, TC, Test, Tigerprr, TNChick, Wendy,

nablopomo
learning disabilities

Roadrunner down

in my neighborhood. Gosh, I might have to clean, or something. Check with you all later. I posted the TT last night.

Cold and flu season--I repeat

"At the Veterinary library our materials were on occasion returned with blood, guts, semen and vomit, and almost always human viruses. We really weren't in that much danger from the zoonotics, but a sick patron could infect and reinfect my staff. We had a roll of paper towels and cleaner handy, and a box of kleenex for patrons at the circ desk. Viruses can live a long time on hard surfaces like counter tops, door handles, and books returned with fingers that just swiped a runny nose. When kids are going into debt for higher education, they don't stay home to nurse a cold. Even if you have to buy these supplies out of your own pocket, it is worth it."

This rerun has been brought to you by the administrator

3172 A note to children and Republican legislators

#41. It is not well to put back on the dish what you have once had on your plate.

"Christopher Dock's One Hundred Necessary Rules of Conduct for Children," translated by Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, originally published about 1764 in Saur's Geistliches Magazien. Reprinted in Pennsylvania German Society Proceedings.

[Christopher Dock was born in Germany and came to America ca. 1714. Because he was already a trained school teacher in Germany it is unlikely that he was a Mennonite in Europe, since their employment was restricted. He attended Skippack Mennonite Church, married a Mennonite woman, and all his children remained active Mennonites. Except for 10 years as a farmer, he devoted his entrie life to teaching, and had a reputation as a saintly schoolmaster. He used many hymns and psalms in his teaching. He believed that having a right heart was central to the life of the faithful. Suzanne E. Gross, Hymnody of Eastern Pennsylvania German Mennonite Communities. Thesis. 1994.]

Let's get down to business--I repeat

If you smoke or drink, are promiscuous or overweight, if you enjoy the sun or use earbuds or headphones more than an hour a day, then stop fussing about bird flu, mercury poisoning in fish, plastic in the microwave, ozone holes, mad cow disese or the ingredients in your shampoo and soap. You're avoiding the obvious measures to protect your health and hiding behind your bogus, media-generated fears so you won't have to behave yourself and take responsibility. Just your worrying alone is shortening your life and you are not doing anything about the things you can control.

You know who you are.

This rerun (12-19-05) has been brought to you by the administrator

3170 No toxic soup after Katrina

One of the myths the media used to terrorize us after the Katrina disaster was the "toxic soup" story. The Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain were already some of the dirtiest water sources in the nation even before the storm. However, within a few weeks they had recovered remarkably--much faster than anyone expected. The water was unsanitary, but not toxic. The most recent issue of Environmental Science and Technology November 15, 2006, reports that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) testing shows very little difference in the pollution level of the lake a year later than before the storm.

"Compared to lake sediments all over the country, Lake Pontchartrain sediments are similar,” says Peter Van Metre of USGS, who is the lead author of the ES&T research. “There’s a lot of urban contamination, and Lake Pontchartrain is typical of that.” Still, Van Metre and his colleagues found that pollutants were concentrated at the mouth of the 17th Street Canal, through which much of the flood water was pumped out of the city.

The team analyzed mud from the city and sediments from canals and Lake Pontchartrain for a long list of possible urban contaminants. In some cases, particularly for fragrances, newer pesticides, and cholesterols, they used novel methods. Zinc, PCBs, and DDT, among other compounds, appeared in mud and lake-sediment samples at the mouths of several canals. High concentrations at many sites dissipated weeks after the hurricane passed. Lake Pontchartrain “is big enough and the circulation is strong enough in and out of the Gulf of Mexico” to dissipate those inputs, Van Metre says."

And speaking of water contamination--we're all contributing to the headache!

Last week contaminated acetaminophen, a common headace remedy, was in the news. Sometimes it is doing the contaminating. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) chemists investigated probable chemical reactions involving acetaminophen when the drug is subjected to typical wastewater processing. Acetaminophen is the most widely used pain reliever in the United States, and a study of 139 streams by the U.S. Geological Survey found that it was one of the most frequently detected man-made chemicals. The drug readily reacts in chlorine disinfection to form at least 11 new products, at least two of which are known to be toxic. From NIST Tech Beat. Abstract.

3169 Checking the library shelves

When I read this review. . . : "I know all about dissing the South. I've been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt, worn it out, and thrown it away. But D.C. pundit Kevin Phillips still wears the anti-Southern shirt with pride in his new rant American Theocracy. For Phillips, the South's distinctive contribution to America is fundamentalist, anti-rational, anti-modern, ultimately theocratic religion.

You see, there's an American "Disenlightenment" going on, and its epicenter is somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line. While the North has its symphonies and universities, not to mention a higher IQ (yes, he really says that), the South has a "religious citizenry, more caught up in fecundity and the idea that children are gifts of the Lord." Southerners spend so much time poring over the Bible that they can't possibly participate constructively in a modern knowledge-based economy." TAE

I just knew Upper Arlington Public Library would have multiple copies of this anti-conservative, anti-Christian title (which I'd never heard of). But this obscure title's quantity surprised even me. When I checked the on line catalog, I found five copies of the regular edition, one large print, and one audio book recording. Do I know librarians, or what? Censorship and bias are more likely to happen during selection and purchase than by what is rejected or withdrawn based on patron complaints. Someone on the library staff has really skewed the collection.

NYT, of course, loved it, but did note there was little new or original material in it. What a shock!

Update: I checked the most recent Bill O'Reilly book, Culture Warrior, and the library has one regular copy with 11 requests waiting (if each person kept it 2 weeks that would be about 5 months), 1 large print checked out, and one audio, checked out. One copy just says unavailable--I have no idea if it is lost, on order, or being processed because the catlog record is very difficult to read. The Factor, which I believe sold very well, had only 2 copies in the collection.

3168 Disappearing manufacturing jobs

Since 2000, over 4.5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost nationwide. Labor and political activists are agitated. Some wonder if the country should limit its connections to the global economy.

But the country in question isn't our country--it is China. Those manufacturing jobs disappeared in the Asian country that is supposedly stealing all of our factory work. So how can China also be experiencing a net loss of blue-collar jobs? The answer, in a word, is productivity. Story here.

Total manufacturing output in the US is higher than it's ever been.

3167 When readers write

the writers should read. The Wall Street Journal is probably the most liberal newspaper in the country when it comes to news stories. Just like NYT and WaPo, any time there is good news about the economy, the war, health breakthroughs, education or traditional families it is fitted into a "yes, but. . ." template. The editorials and the letters, however, are another story--the right story. Today a reader writes what I wish the over-paid journalists who work for a business publication in a democracy with a thriving economy could say:

"Republicans did fail their values when they attempted to purchase their seats with spending, shrunk from reforming budget-killing entitlements, and found no effective response to illegal immigration." Dan Pisenti, a reader not a journalist, said that, and then told Republicans they need to get a spine. And I point to our failed Ohio Senators, DeWine and Voinovich, who needed implants in two locations.

The media and Democrats drone on about the election losses being about the war, and unfortunately President Bush is willing to go along with them rather than just smack Republicans up side the head and tell the truth. Dems don't want to reveal they know the real reasons, because they want their turn at the trough they lost in 1994, and will divert attention by bullying Bush.

Don't read this blog

Unless you are a single, Christian woman looking for a nice mother-in-law.


OK. Maybe not a mother-in-law. Maybe just a nice guy to meet? Central Ohio? I remember reading a blog a year ago where a mom posted a photo of her son and said he was looking. I forgot to bookmark it, so I don't know if it worked.

So you can e-mail me, using the address at the left. No comments here, please. In fact, I'm disabling them for this entry, and if you drop them at another entry, I'll delete them.

You can see for yourself that he's handsome--about 6'1", maybe 180-190 lbs. (haven't asked), athletic build, very dark brown eyes and curly hair, 38 years old. He's a divorced Christian (Lutheran). No children. Employed. Owns his own 3 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood and 2 cars--no debt (except a home mortgage), but no extra money either, so if that's important to you, move along. Used to have his own automotive repair business. Loves sports, gardening, landscaping, fishing, camping, and music. Cooks. Has a large dog and a small, overweight cat. Plays guitar. Nice singing voice. Tons of friends. Not real techy, but can hook up a computer and uses one at work. Don't think he is into I-pods, the internet, Blackberries or current music. Everyone notices how personable he is. Customer service is his strength and he is really put off by pushy, rude people, gossipy women, and people who look down on others because of some flaw they perceive. I don't think he enjoys reading or movies--can't think of the last time he even mentioned those. He's apolitical--not even registered vote (this is a dig). He's got a short fuse, but usually gets over it quickly. People who carry grudges will not work well with him. He is very good to his parents, and when his grandparents were alive, he was a softy for them.

The rest of us
What does he want? Well, he's just as shallow as the next guy, in my opinion. He's partial to pretty stunning blondes. And I can't imagine why, because it hasn't worked well in the past, and besides, there are no natural blonde adults. If you have issues, baggage or are high maintenance, this guy will have zero patience. But I'll forward inquiries to him. I promise.

nablopomo
singles
central Ohio

3165 Our government workers' sense of humor

One day in aerobics class the instructor mentioned she had a new position with the state of Ohio and needed a researcher. "I'll do it, I'll do it," I wheezed while managing a particularly difficult lunge with a grapevine step. So began my adventure working for the Ohio Department of Aging, long before I was a senior citizen. If you have ever worked for the federal, state or local governments, you've discovered that they are staffed both by the relatives of donors to the party in power, and by some incredibly smart, dedicated and funny people who do their best for the public with a missionary zeal.

And on a slow day, the humor must bubble to the top at the office. Take for instance, the coffee break where they were tossing out names for what to call leaky storage tanks: "How about LUST, or Leaking Underground Storage Tanks," someone who doesn't want the credit suggested. Perfect. And now the newsletter is digitized and called LUST LINE. I'll betcha they get the perverts at that website!

But some storage tanks are unique. Because of EPA regulations way back in the 80s it became cheaper to abandon gas stations and buried oil tanks than to clean them up. Regulations are so strict in fact, it is almost impossible to clean up a tank for a small business owner because it can cost $125,000 to clean up a site. Not too many small businesses can afford to do that, so you'll see a lot of abandoned lots in small towns. Underneath is probably a leaky tank.

The Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) is responsible for promoting the cleanup of leaking underground storage tank (LUST) sites with a program called RAGS, Cleaning Up and Reusing Abandoned Gas Station Sites.

3164 EXCIT-ING News for stroke victims

The acronym EXCITE stands for Extremity Constraint-Induced Therapy Evaluation, a trial that shows if stroke victims have intensive physical therapy and the "good" limb is restrained so that it doesn't "help" then the patient experienced remarkable improvement in 2 weeks over the traditional treatment (which can range from no treatment after concluding formal rehabilitation to drug or physiotherapeutic interventions). The study appeared in the November 1 issue of JAMA, "Effect of constraint-induced movement therapy on upper extremity function 3 to 9 months after stroke: the EXCITE randomized clinical trial," (Vol. 296,no. 17, p. 2095).

"This study demonstrates that for up to 30% of the stroke population, individuals with upper extremity impairment who have some initial movement capability can use a relatively inexpensive rehabilitative approach to improve upper extremity function and that this effect will persist for at least one year," the study's principal investigator, Steven Wolf, PhD, of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, told Medscape.

"This intervention is not difficult to implement but it does require a great deal of cooperation in both the clinical and home environments. We live in a world where we have a multi-billion dollar drug industry, which has conditioned patients to believe that everything can be fixed with a pill and that they don't have to take any responsibility for their own health. But this is not the case with catastrophic injury and patients have to understand this," Dr. Wolf said."

I think this study has implications beyond stroke victims. Whether it is friends, family, spouses, or the federal government, sometimes we need to allow people to get stronger by not helping them so much.

3163 Family values--illegal immigrant version

Apparently, another myth we've been fed by the current desire to bring more "guest workers" into this country to take jobs Americans don't want (like construction, plumbing, roofing, etc.) is that they have stronger, more stable families. Not so, says this article at City Journal.

"Unless the life chances of children raised by single mothers suddenly improve, the explosive growth of the U.S. Hispanic population over the next couple of decades does not bode well for American social stability. Hispanic immigrants bring near–Third World levels of fertility to America, coupled with what were once thought to be First World levels of illegitimacy. (In fact, family breakdown is higher in many Hispanic countries than here.) Nearly half of the children born to Hispanic mothers in the U.S. are born out of wedlock, a proportion that has been increasing rapidly with no signs of slowing down. Given what psychologists and sociologists now know about the much higher likelihood of social pathology among those who grow up in single-mother households, the Hispanic baby boom is certain to produce more juvenile delinquents, more school failure, more welfare use, and more teen pregnancy in the future."

Even if you believe all the repetitive, ubiquitous filler stories we read in our liberal press about how unfair the U.S. economic system is and how the gap is widening between the rich and poor, how would you expect the gap to ever close if we constantly import victims for the media, the Democrats and the unions to exploit? Punishing the successful and destroying Wal-Mart and McDonalds business plans and efficiency will not help the poor, native or imported, even if it does knock down a few of the wealthy CEOs. Don't ask an increased minimum wage floor to make up for an unmarried mother or no high school diploma or poor English. There are some things even $10.00/hour can't do!

3162 Monday Memories

Did I ever tell you about John and Wilma?
We went to their 50th anniversary party yesterday and had an old time, 1950s blast. Their three children hosted it at the Nutcracker Restaurant in Pataskala, OH which is completely decorated in 1950s decor, without being hokey--and in beautiful condition. The invitations had arrived with a 50s rock 'n roll theme, and guests were urged to wear 50s clothing (we didn't--I still have a 1955 formal that requires a 23" waist--but some of the outfits were hilarious).

Usually the restaurant closes at 2 p.m. on Sunday, but someone knew the owner who agreed to stay open for the party and have his experienced staff serve all the dinners. We all enjoyed huge combos of either chili-cheese hotdogs and/or cheeseburgers with sides of coleslaw, onion rings and french fries, served with root beer floats or any other soft drink we wanted. A gorgeous cake was served from the authentic fountain area that had a yummy raspberry filling. A disc jockey played 50s music all evening plus some popular Christian music--Gaithers if I'm not mistaken.

Their children had prepared a nice video of photographs of their parents' family life and career, including all the grandchildren. A photographer was roaming taking shots that will later be put on a web site. They also supplied trivia at each table on cards with John and Wilma's wedding photo and gave out prizes to the winners--Elvis records (not cds). Most of us could shout out the answers to "What was Mohammed Ali's real name?" and "Who did President Eisenhower defeat to win re-election?"

John and Wilma met when she was in high school and he was in college. She had just moved to Lynchburg, OH and he was home for a visit with some other guys when she caught his eye. They were interviewed by their two oldest grandchildren (in their 20s) with questions submitted by the guests and told some funny stories about their long courtship and early married life, when he was a high school coach and she was working. One thing a little unusual for a 50th is that their mothers are still living, and Wilma's was at the celebration--not looking a day over 80. John's mother is in a nursing home, but even after raising 12 children is alert and sharp, he said.

We met John in the early 1980s when my husband was a partner in Feinknopf, Macioce, Schappa, Architects and had gone down to Hillsboro, OH to supervise a school construction project. He was so impressed with the superintendent, John, that he just raved about him. I went with him on one trip (beautiful country down there), and was also charmed, not just with John, but the lovely community tucked away in the hills with a thriving economy. One thing that impressed my husband was that John knew every child in each building by name! And last night he did the same, by going around the room and introducing each guest by name and telling how they knew them and met. One guy, probably in his 60s, was a member of one of the high school teams John coached--another had been an older mentor, also a coach, others members of Bible study groups going back 20 or 30 years.

About six years ago, John and Wilma bought a summer place at Lakeside, OH where we have a cottage. They purchased a trailer in the campgrounds and just love it there. Although not at all interested when Bob told them years ago about Lakeside, they had apparently visited one week-end and fell in love with it. So we've been able to continue seeing them off and on in their retirement. A few years ago, they bought a condo in central Ohio so they could be closer to the grandchildren, since all their children settled in the Columbus area. But not too close--they are enjoying their retirement, and have many friends and activities.

View More Monday Memories Participants
Trackbacks, pings, and comment links are accepted and encouraged!
I don't use Mr. Linky, so your links will stay put!
My visitors and those I'll visit this week are:Ma, Viamarie, Mrs. Lifecruiser, Debbie, Lazy Daisy, Lady Bug, Janene, Janene in Ohio, Michelle, Anna, ChelleY. Jen, Melli Becki, Paul, Friday's Child, Irish Church Lady,Cozy Reader

1950s
wedding anniversaries
party themes
nostalgia