Thanksgiving 2008 and Celebrity Sightings

I spent Thanksgiving at Mike and Maggie Schabel's house in Parma, OH.  We were joined by Bob, Kathleen, and Joe.  We ate most of the usual food associated with Thanksgiving.  During the festivities, we completed choosing names for the family gift exchange.  In addition, we called Aunt Rita.  She seems to be doing fine.  It was a nice and quiet affair.

In other news, Bob and I saw Sarah Vowell at the Cleveland Public Library Auditorium on November 16.  It was so crowded that we were standing in the lobby watching her on a television screen.  It wouldn't surprise me if her talk appeared on either local Public Access cable (Cleveland) or C-Span 2 (Not Available on Time Warner Basic cable locally).  She was quite amusing even when she was reading from her books.  I haven't read any of her books, but maybe I will someday.

Seeing the Love Chef on Live with Regis and Kelly this week, (The show title will be underlined when I use a different browser that supports underlining.  I am presently using Apple Safari.) I was reminded that I saw the Love Chef at Parmatown Mall approximately 15 years ago. I didn't talk to him, but I can say that I saw him in person!    

In closing, I hope that you all had a nice Thanksgiving!

The Election Went Smoother than Expected.

Bob and I went to vote at the Brooklyn Heights United Church of Christ on West Schaaf Road at Broadview Road in Cleveland just before 10:00 A.M. today. (The village of Brooklyn Heights is about a mile away down West Schaaf Road.)  There weren't too many campaigners outside the polling place.  In the hallway, a man asked us for our names.  After finding our names, he told us our precinct (We knew it, but the service was appreciated.).  Just inside the polling room, a lady asked us for our precinct.  She then pointed us to our table, which wasn't too hard to find.  After confirming our identification, we had to wait a few minutes for a voting booth.  I was offered a pen and clipboard, but Bob was able to use a booth.  I carefully double checked my ovals because the ballots were being placed into an optical scanner. After voting, I removed the ballot stubs and placed both ballots, one at a time, into the scanner.  Since the ballots didn't come out of the scanner, they were acceptable. (Bob and I expected the ballots to come out when the scanner was finished processing them.  I guess we were so used to handing our ballots to the poll workers.).  I then went home.  Including a five minute walk each way, the whole experience took us only 30-35 minutes.  Based on the long lines for early voting (Before Election Day, which was new to Ohio) and at other places nationwide today, we expected it to be more of an ordeal.  Even the self scanning went smoother than expected.  Other than the polling place and the ballots, voting was totally different this election.  Even the primary eight months ago didn't offer all these procedural changes.  This will be an election to remember.  This post will be continued at a later date.

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My "38 Special" Birthday

I turned 38 years old today. We celebrated yesterday by going to Mavis Winkle's in Independence. Other than Mike Schabel (It's too hard to make a 7:00 P.M. dinner.) and Patty, (As readers of this blog know, she lives in Lancaster, MA) the cast of characters from our September 8th dinner participated once again. We enjoyed our food for the most part. After dinner, most of us (Mandy passed because she had an early day at work today.) went to my house to eat cake (Chocolate) and pie (Banana Cream (I haven't had any yet because I am not fond of bananas, but I promised to have a slice sometime.)). I then opened presents. Gift cards and lottery tickets were the primary presents. It was a nice event. I hope that the next 0ccasion goes as well.

Today, I went to lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill by Parmatown Mall (Which isn't too far from Dimitri's) because I had a coupon for a free birthday burrito, which was a reward for being in their E-club. Of course, I got the top of the line (Chicken with the Works) . Chips and salsa are complimentary with every meal. Coke topped off the meal. Lunch only cost me $1.61. It was worth every cent.

I then went to the library that was nearby (Cuyahoga County Public Library's Parma-South Branch). I skimmed a few books (Two volumes on libraries and a book on U.S. Catholic dioceses.). Before I did that, I read some new Ohio phone books that all had West Virginia listings included. When I came home, I watched two episodes of Live with Regis and Kelly and ate some leftover Chinese food from East China (On Broadview Road by the Parma-Cleveland border). It was a nice way to enjoy my birthday.

As I am writing this, I am listening to a John Conlee CD. After "finishing" the CD, (The CD from the library had a few rough patches as I played it in the DVD player by the TV. The computer CD and DVD players are not functioning right now. We are in the market for a new computer as our computer is outdated.) I am replaying two songs ("Lady, Lay Down" and "Friday Night Blues"). After I finish this e-mail, I am going to play my 38 Special CD. A 38 Special reference was mentioned at the dinner last night. Whoever said it was thinking of the gun, but the musical group is a more appropriate tribute to my birthday.

Hopefully, I will be posting again real soon.

There Will Be More Howlin' in Howland in April

Dan and Laura Sweeney are expecting in April 2009. It is a total surprise to everyone, especially Dan and Laura. I'm hoping for a boy, (I have three great-nieces.) but as long as it's healthy, it will be fine. I saw Laura over the weekend, and I wouldn't have suspected anything unusual. Of course, details will follow when they happen.

Celebrities in My Midst

Yesterday, Bob and I saw Robin Swoboda as she was taping an episode of That's Life to air soon on WJW Fox 8 in Cleveland, OH. She was at Westfield Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, OH (West of Cleveland). They were taping at the west end of the mall in front of Macy's. Since Bob and I were walking out of camera range, you won't see us on TV. I believe the show streams at http://www.myfoxcleveland.com, but I don't know all the details at this time. Robin has national exposure working with Ahmad Rashad and Gayle King on short lived programs (Weekly Syndication and NBC Daytime, respectively). She was one of the squares on Hollywood Squares for a week on the John Davidson version that aired from 1986 to 1989 in Syndication. She is a real character and a local institution.

Bob and I saw an even bigger celebrity on MLK Day this year. Angela Bassett was in town to honor Martin Luther King Jr. I'll admit that I wouldn't have recognized her if I didn't know that she was going to be a part of the ceremony, which was held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I would have recognized the MC (Leon Bibb, WEWS (Channel 5) News Anchor) when I heard his voice as he has worked in town for over 30 years (http://www.newsnet5.com should have his biography.) He is another Cleveland Institution. I am also blessed that we have the Rock Hall in Cleveland, although I don't think it's worth the inflated admission price which I have never paid. (I paid $2 for the first anniversary celebration and nothing for the rest of my visits which number between 10-15 since 1996. This discount rate is due to anniversary celebrations and participation in the MLK Day Free or Reduced Rate program.) There are other "celebrities" that I have met over the years, but I'll save them for another post.