Live From Kent...

Second Verse Same as the First!

2012-01-08T00:46:00.000-05:00

I'm back using the laptop again after I had some major problems getting it to start just before I left Utah. It would turn on, but wouldn't get past the "Welcome" screen. It also wouldn't shut down (I left it in "shutting down" mode and came back 3 hours later and the "shutting down" screen was still up. After running the full Checkdisk (CHKDSK), which took like 8 hours, and then startup repair, it finally opened today, though it still has some problems. I'm hoping the problems are software related and not hardware related. I already have Windows 7 ready to install, which I hope to do this weekend. I was thankfully able to get all my important files copied to my desktop (and will eventually copy them again to my external hard drive), so I can start over. All I need to do now is get the license keys for Microsoft Office programs so I can reinstall them after I add Windows 7. My laptop is an HP Pavilion tx2000z, a tablet PC, complete with fingerprint reader and touch screen. I got it in late May or early June 2008, just before I started grad school, so it's coming on 4 years. My desktop (Dell) is almost 5 years old (got it March 2007) and is definitely showing its age. All the more reason to get a better job, so I can replace them when that time comes! While the laptop was out and I wasn't home to use the desktop, I was able to use my iPod Touch to access most of the websites I check the most. Mobile's great and all, but not all the time, especially for typing!

Another year, another run with This is Kirtland!

My laptop problem is my first major "event" of 2012, which began for me in Utah. It was the first New Year's for me in Utah since I spent New Year's Eve 2001 in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. It was great to be out in Utah with several members of my immediate family, and to have a change in the usual routine for Christmas. As with any change in the year, I've definitely been reflecting on the past year, as most people do. 2011 overall wasn't a whole lot different than 2010 or 2009 in terms of progress. That's not to say that nothing good happened in 2011, but it certainly wasn't as eventful in the areas I had hoped for when I looked ahead one year ago. In many ways I feel stuck in neutral as far as finding that first full-time job and really taking off with life. I'm still subbing and still at the same house. There is some hope on the horizon, though, so at this point I'm cautiously optimistic that 2012 will bring some long-awaited progress in my life! By the end of this year, there will definitely be some changes in any event in terms of employment. Hopefully those changes will be an improvement over the current circumstances.

Singing the national anthem for the first time at a Major League game
was a total thrill!

The three biggest events of the year for me personally happened almost a month apart and were both unexpected events, or at least somewhat unexpected. First was my surgery on August 25 to have my gallbladder removed. I had been having abdominal pains every few months and I just attributed it to indigestion. The days leading up to the surgery, I had very intense abdominal pains that lasted a good 2 days and eliminated my appetite, not to mention made it somewhat painful to take deep breaths. At first, there was fear of appendicitis, but I wasn't experiencing any of the symptoms. After seemingly recovering from the stomach pains, I got extreme abdominal pains early in the morning of August 24th, so I had Mom take me to the ER in Ravenna around 5:30 AM. There it was determined that my gallbladder was in need of removal, so I had surgery scheduled the next day. It was the first time I've ever checked into a hospital and stayed overnight. The surgery went well, but the gallbladder was so swollen it was ready to burst, so rather than going laparoscopically, they had to do a traditional incision that is about 7 inches long. I still have a nice scar from that incision and the staples that were used to close it (and were removed about 2 weeks later). Paying the whole medical bill is an on-going process, but thankfully I have been able to make steady payments to the myriad of bills!

Pre-surgery picture. I was in the hospital a total of 4 days and 3 nights

My next biggest surprise was the first of 2011, when the Cleveland Indians called me on March 3 (the day after my birthday) and asked me to sing the national anthem at the game April 5th. I had been sending audition CDs to the Indians for years, so it was nice to finally hear from them. Even better was that (in an even bigger surprise), I was asked to sing again at the September 24th game too! Both performances were great experiences and I hope to be able to sing for the Tribe again in 2012. I also sang for the Akron Aeros again on Good Friday. It was fun, but very cold and wet!

The other somewhat unexpected event of 2011 was that I got a new car. Actually, I got 2 new cars, well, new to me. In April, my grandparents bought a brand-new Ford Taurus and subsequently gave me their 2005 Buick LeSabre (the ultimate grandparents car!). The biggest surprise there was that their new car was red, BRIGHT red, from two people who have owned mostly blue, green, or gray cars the last few decades (the LeSabre is gray). I knew they had been leaning towards getting a new car, but I didn't even know they were looking until they had already bought the new Taurus. Well, at that point I tried to sell my existing 1998 Oldsmobile 88 LS (which had a host of problems) and the LeSabre with hopes of using the money to get a newer, smaller car. Well, I struggled to find anyone willing to buy either car, so I was resigned to just keeping the newer LeSabre and going for a newer (and smaller) car when I finally got a job. Well, things were going well until my trip to Pennsylvania and New York in August and I ended up having to have the LeSabre shipped back to Ohio after the brake rods rusted through, which happened in New York City on the way back from JFK airport. All that got the wheels going fast on getting a different car, one that wasn't going to completely bankrupt me by having problem after problem. With my mom's help, we got the main problems fixed on both cars and tried to sell them on the open market, but that didn't work. The LeSabre was sold to VanDevere Buick in Akron for $7,000 and I traded the Olds in (for a whopping $700) when I got my new car at Park Honda in Akron. I ended up getting a 2008 Honda Civic EX, which so far I have absolutely loved. It's obviously much smaller than my previous cars (major plus), has great gas mileage, and my most favorite feature is the power moonroof. I took it on its first major trip in November (to Louisiana and back) and it did pretty well!

First time in the new car...this was the day AFTER I sang for the Indians
and got horribly sunburned during the game!

My new car right after I brought it home!

I had my share of travels this past year, which I very much enjoyed. My first trip was to Bowling Green, Ohio, to see Kent State play BG in men's basketball and to visit my friend Michelle. It's always fun to visit, plus we got to see a great game (and a KSU victory)! The interesting part of the trip to BG was that I took it during the week (Tuesday) even though I had work the next day at Roosevelt (which also happened to be my 29th birthday). I got back to Kent around midnight and then went to work ay 7 AM. Yeah, I was tired, but it was totally worth it. Other travels included three trips to Nashville (March, August, and November). The November trip to Nashville was for Thanksgiving and also included a same-day trip to and from Monroe, Louisiana, to visit a friend there. The most adventurous trip of 2011 was the Ridinger family gathering in the Pocono Mountains of eastern Pennsylvania near the town of Bushkill at the Tree Top Villas. That included three trips into New York City, which was just under 2 hours from where we were staying. I took a solo trip to Manhattan one day (which included parking in Manhattan for free!), the crazy trip to JFK to drop my sister's friend Natalie off at the airport (the entire trip to and from JFK took like 9 hours or something outrageous because of traffic!), and then a group trip to Manhattan with my dad, sisters, and brother-in-law. The two sightseeing trips were tons of fun and I enjoyed where we stayed and the time we had with each other. My other biog trip is what ended 2011: my trip to Utah to visit with my sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew for Christmas and New Years with Mom. It was a lot of fun, plus I enjoyed being able to see a few of my old friends I don't get to see very much anymore. Christmas with a 2-year old is rather entertaining as well!

2011 Ridinger family photo

Birthday trip to BG with Michelle!

March 5 game in Kent with Katie!

Christmas morning at Becky & David's

Nate liked the wooden train I got him (Mom found it; I financed it!)

And of course, no year would be complete without another appearance in This is Kirtland! which I did this summer for the 6th year. 2011 was my debut as Lorenzo Snow, a part I thoroughly enjoyed.

After a show, from Brenda Ebie

And lastly, I finally rejoined the Kent Historical Society in October and started putting my love of local history to work. I'm in charge of planning a 90th anniversary of the Davey school building (the original Roosevelt High School), to take place this coming September. It's been great working with everyone at KHS and having my excitement for local history appreciated! It was enough to get me to start my newest blog, Happenin' History, and share what I'm learning about history even more. I've learned so much more about Kent's history than I ever imagined (especially the schools). Joining the Facebook group "You Know you are from Kent if/when...." has been a lot of fun and educational!! Now, here's to hoping 2012 is a good one! Oh, and I just noticed that this is my 200th actual post on this blog! Wow!

My Mission...10 Years Later

2011-12-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

With my brother just before I officially entered the MTC

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of my mission. I entered the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) on December 12, 2001. Like with anything that marks the passage of time, in some ways it's hard to believe it's been 10 years while in others, it seems like a lifetime ago that my mission started. I often reflect on my mission and the experiences I had, especially around this time. Since I entered the MTC on December 12 (12/12), it's easy to remember! My mission really taught me about missionary work (what it is and what it isn't and why we do it) and tons about the difference between doctrine and culture. I also learned a lot about what it means to sustain our leaders and how to be more direct with my own views and concerns.

MTC Referral Center

When I look at pictures of myself at the MTC (the few that still exist...most were lost when my luggage was stolen January 3 just after arriving in Tucson), I often think "wow, you have no idea what's coming!" Indeed, I really didn't. Going on a mission was something I was definitely ready for. When my brother dropped me off at the MTC, he was far more emotional about it than I was. I was more of the "OK, here we go" mentality. Basically, it was a new phase in my life that I was ready for, so there wasn't a lot of emotion involved for me. As emotional as my brother was, even so he gave me some blunt, but sound, advice: "Make sure to have fun...if people around you don't want to, they can go to hell!" or something like that. I still laugh about it, but it was something I tried to hold to my entire time. Yes, missionary work is important and serious, but it is also fun (or should be). I saw too many missionaries around me make it into something unenjoyable.

On the MTC campus Christmas Day

The hardest thing for me on my mission was the whole process of filling time every day. You really get to the point that if you aren't actively doing something like tracting or visiting someone that you're "slacking off" or "wasting time". Especially as a senior companion (when I was in charge of what we were doing), I would just agonize over how to spend the day. As a junior companion, I remember many times my senior comp would fill time with tracting (going door to door). Not only was tracting the least effective way to reach people, but the whole monotony of it drove me insane. I usually resorted to tracting only in the rarest of circumstances; basically there was nothing else to do and/or we had no one to teach. I tended to focus more on us being seen in public and getting to know the members more. Along with that, getting to know families that members who weren't LDS was something I focused on. It wasn't a "schmooz them so we can baptize them" kind of thing, but rather a "get to know them so we're more than just recruiters" kind of thing. We called that "building relationships of trust" or "BRT". Even so, I did my share of tracting in the Arizona Tucson Mission. I never really had any success from it in any area.

Article that ran right before I left for the MTC...one of those pictures I look and think "you have no idea what's coming!"

Before I left...

Success was another thing I have thought a lot about. In most of the LDS culture, "success" on a mission is defined by the number of baptisms you have on your mission and/or by the positions you hold. I really don't even know the number of baptisms I "had" since there are many ways you could count them. There were some that I taught from the very beginning, some I came in near the beginning, and some I barely even knew before they were baptized; I just happened to get transferred in at a certain point. And heck, there were some I taught that got baptized after (in some cases LONG after) I left. Even then, who cares? The number isn't what's important. The important thing is that I got to know the person as a friend and was able to teach them. I still try to keep in touch with as many of the people I taught as I can. Why? Because I consider them friends. And really, what happened after the statistic of the baptism? Did they stay active? Were they baptized because they were really making a new commitment in their lives or were they doing it for some other reason? No, the real measure of success of a mission is not only in how the people you taught are doing years later, but also how well you are remembered by them and the others you worked with. In that sense, I feel like I had a very successful mission. I also feel like there were definitely points on my mission that I was so concerned with getting that "statistic" that I ignored that fact that the people we were teaching weren't ready to be baptized. There was an instance in Las Cruces, New Mexico that I will never forget. We were teaching this guy who was pretty interesting (I'd say CRAZY...I could write an entire blog post just on my experiences teaching this guy!) and he expressed an interest in being baptized, so we got everything ready to go, which included an interview with the zone leader (a fellow missionary). Well, he "failed" the interview, meaning the zone leader didn't think this guy was ready. I remember being pretty upset about it and feeling like he was being too picky, worrying too much, etc. At that point, I just wanted that golden baptism stat so it looked like my companion and I were accomplishing something (even though in reality we were accomplishing quite a bit). Not too long after, we found out this guy had been meeting with people from other churches too and was basically just trying to find someone to give him a welfare handout. He had no interest in taking any of the baptismal commitments seriously. On the flip side, I and this same companion also taught a guy in Las Cruces who never got baptized while we were there (I was in Las Cruces for 12 weeks and my companion had been there 6 weeks prior to me getting there...I taught him every week I was there and my companion had taught him for the first time the week before I arrived). We asked him a number of times, but he always hesitated. Basically, I remember telling him that if he wasn't sure, to wait until he was sure or it wouldn't be worth it. Well, I had been home in Ohio about 6 months when I got a call that he was going to be baptized that weekend. It was almost a year after I had been teaching him. He's still active in the church and was sealed in the temple. Is that my success story? Hardly, but I'm glad I was able to play a part in that. THAT is success on a mission; being an instrument in the hand of the Lord to help bring people closer to him, whatever step in coming closer that may be.

The mission was full of fun and new experiences...
This one's for you Jensens!!

My mission also was my first real taste of the "Utah" culture I've blogged about before. Prior to that, I had only even visited Utah a few times on family trips and we were only there for a week or two at the most. I mostly interacted with my cousins, who were all at least 4 years younger than me. My mission is also where I first heard the term "Utard" and saw real-life examples of it. That said, of the 15 different companions I had, one of the worst I had was from Utah and one of the best I had was also from Utah, but I had extremes from other places too. Even so, I definitely noticed a general trend among the attitudes, particularly in how they regarded members and themselves, and their general ignorance of other religious beliefs and customs. My first mission president wasn't immune from those attitudes either. In fact, from what I heard from my own companions (my first 4 companions were zone leaders, meaning they interacted with the president much more than your typical missionary since they were in charge of several companionships), he pretty much promoted what I felt were very condescending and arrogant attitudes, like the missionaries (particularly those from Utah) were more knowledgeable about how the church operates than any member in the area. Ummmm, no. As I've said before, it's like me saying I'm more knowledgeable about how our country runs because I'm closer to Washington, DC, than someone from, say, Utah. And as I've said before, in no way do I consider this a general view of everyone from Utah; I have many very good friends from Utah who are in no way like this. But I saw it enough that I knew it wasn't isolated to a few people.

Elder Huwe, far left, was my last companion, and someone I still keep in touch with. We were about as opposite as two people could be, but we got along very well and got tons done in Ruidoso!

My companion Elder Graff in Las Cruces, who I still
keep in touch with. We were cool like that

I also made tons of friends on my mission who I do my best to still keep in touch with. Many are people I worked with who were members of the various wards and branches I served in. Others are former companions or other missionaries I served with somewhere in the mission. Of the 15 companions I mentioned earlier, I am still in touch in some way with 10 of them (via Facebook and some have blogs...well, their respective wife has a blog!). Of the other 5 I simply haven't been able to track down 4 of them and 1 decided he didn't want to stay in touch with me via Facebook. I try to visit many of them as often as time and means permit. Of course there are many experiences that bring people together and a mission is one of many chapters of my life that has brought people into my life that I still consider great friends.

Elder Kay was one of my favorite companions.
We served together for 6 weeks in Safford, AZ.

I learned a great deal about myself and really refined my personal ideology and general beliefs. That's not to say I haven't had any refinements since then, but the mission definitely exposed me to a lot of new ideas and concepts and made me analyze many of the ideas I came on my mission with. One thing I really saw refined was my view on sustaining church leaders. Being on a mission showed me the humanity of church leaders, so it made me even more of a person who questions authority than someone who easily submits. That's not to say I question everything, but I definitely think it over and generally say something if I don't think it's the best course of action or that it could be improved somehow. Just ask the guys I served in bishopric with during my one-year tenure as ward executive secretary! You can also ask my second mission president. In all honesty, my first mission president intimidated me to the extreme. Not only was I a new missionary, but his personality didn't exactly come across as warm and caring. Plus, he left when I had been on my mission all of 7 months, so I never really got to interact with him all that much. My second mission president, however, was much different. Not only was he more approachable in terms of personality, but since I had been out on my mission 7 months already AND I knew he had never served a full-time mission, I wasn't intimidated at all. This helped me be more direct in addressing concerns than I had been before my mission. I'd say we began and ended on a good relationship. In the middle there were definitely some rocky points, which shaped my views on leadership, how it works, and how I choose to deal with it. I think our relationship was at its lowest point when I was in the latter half of my mission, mostly because he had heard some rather ridiculous things about how I was as a missionary and interpreted my very laid back and hard-to-impress attitude (which I still have) as not being excited about missionary work. Even when I was about to get transferred to my final area, he asked me where I wanted to go so I would be most effective, but it was preceded with a "do you plan on being sick the rest of your mission". Apparently, he had heard (who knows WHERE) that I had been staying in until like 1 PM every day. It was ridiculous because we had morning appointments at that time every day except one. The heat definitely got to me throughout my mission, so I would take naps at lunch, but it was rare that it took multiple hours. In the transfer leading up to that, I remember staying in a few times when I didn't feel good, but it was hardly anything remotely unusual. Anyway, I ended up going to my last area, Ruidoso, New Mexico, and did very well there. The comments he got from members there about how my companion and I were doing combined with some positive comments he had been getting the tail end of my time in Alamogordo, NM (area I was in before Ruidoso) really helped turn my reputation around with him. Plus I know he was under his own stress and was learning a lot "on the job" too. I think being out far away from mission headquarters and in an area that I seemed to understand what they needed as far as missionary work went was the difference. I'll definitely give him the credit for being inspired to ask me where I wanted to go, but I take the credit for being inspired as to where I should've gone!

My 21st birthday in Alamogordo, New Mexico. I've always loved this picture

I definitely tried to follow my brother's advice and have
fun...PLUS I did see snow 3 times the entire mission!

I could probably go on for quite awhile about things I learned and experienced on my mission. I think what I want to drive home the most is being honest about what a mission really is. The general culture of the church really tends to frown on talking negatively about one's mission, like we're supposed to pretend that nothing bad happens and only pass along the faith-promoting and positive experiences. I had tons of that, but to sit here and pretend like that's all I had would be not only disingenuous, but dishonest. There are LOTS of things that I didn't like about my mission. To be honest, most days totally sucked or were rather ordinary. The difference, though, is that the great days and experiences that accompanied them were so wonderful that they were able to carry me through the more mundane and discouraging days. Going on a mission is rough and there were many days that I wondered what on Earth I was doing, why I was there, how I could possibly last one more minute, and just wanted to throw in the towel and head home. I didn't like seeing missionaries seemingly blamed when they didn't get baptism numbers or when they were having a rough time finding people to teach. I also didn't like how so many elders were complete brown nosers, but in reality were completely out of touch with the realities of what they were there for and how to really be the most effective and genuine missionaries they could be. Too many were concerned with the stats and statures of the mission. That led to the whole mission politics aspect, which I could've easily done without as well! That said, I never regret serving a mission. It is an accomplishment I am proud of and cherish for what I have learned and the lifelong connections I have made. Would I do it again knowing what I know? Eh, probably not. It's not being negative, just being honest and real. It's tough work...and if all I had to worry about was just missionary work, I'd definitely do it again!

Elder Miles is another companion I keep in touch with. We served together for 12 exciting weeks in Alamogordo, NM. I was seriously depressed when he got transferred. My mission president can be seen on the far left

But here I am, 10 years after it all started. It's good to reflect both on how far I've come and where I still would like to go from here. Things definitely haven't worked out the way I always envisioned them, but hopefully 2012 will bring some positive developments! As for missionary work, we just got two missionary elders in my ward, the first time we've had elders in a few years. It's interesting that this happened right when I was really thinking a lot about my own mission and now I can more actively participate in missionary work again. Not that I couldn't with the awesome sister missionaries we've had here the last few years, but there were some limitations for sure that I don't have to worry about with the elders. To any of my many mission friends (members and missionaries alike) who may read this, I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Ohio License Plates

2011-12-10T01:37:00.000-05:00

I read a few days ago that Ohio will be getting yet another new license plate design coming soon. This is after we just got our current license plate design (known as Beautiful Ohio) only about 2 years ago. It was originally supposed to come out in 2008 I believe, but when the economy really went south, the state decided to hold off on introducing them. Instead, they became optional late 2009 (along with the previous Sunburst design) and then in 2010 became the new standard plate. I honestly don't have a problem with the Beautiful Ohio design. I know some people think it's too busy, some don't like the colors, others don't like the artwork. You're never going to satisfy everyone. I'm more of an artsy and creative person who loves color, so the new plate was a welcome change over the boring Sunburst design. I got my Beautiful Ohio plate back in February 2010.

"Sunburst" design, used from 2004-2010

"Beautiful Ohio" design, first used in 2009

New proposed design

Now, we will likely be getting another plate design. Again, I'm not opposed to it, though the design kind of underwhelms me. Reading the comments, those who disliked the Beautiful Ohio design really liked the new design, while others derided it as boring (again, you can't satisfy everyone). The new red part of the new design is supposed to emulate wings to continue Ohio's obsession with connecting to the Wright Brothers. What I do like about the new design is that "OHIO" is bold and easy to read. The last three plate designs for Ohio have all had "Ohio" in script, which is very hard to read. I'm someone that likes to be able to look at a license plate while I'm on the road and easily be able to tell which state it's from. The thin script used for Ohio has never been something I've liked. Make it bold! The new design does that, which I like. I don't mind the overall simplicity either. I do like all the little slogans and facts in the background, but who's gonna see them and read them? Interesting idea, but not very practical to me.

Anyway, for the longest time I've thought we should incorporate the fact that Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, is from Ohio. That's a pretty cool fact to me. No disrespect to the Wright Brothers, but we've had "Birthplace of Aviation" on our license plates since 1998. More than just the Wright Brothers came from Ohio, not to mention that North Carolina also capitalized on the Wright Brothers' flight with their "First in Flight" moniker. So, here's my plate design. I'm sure people might think it's too busy, but I think a lot of people would like it. It uses one of the pictures from the "Earthrise" series taken from the surface of the moon, which would be easy to use since they're in the public domain already. This is my idea:

Blogging decline

2011-12-05T10:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a stats person. It's part of my attention to detail, but I will definitely notice statistical measures, especially things like attendance at sporting events versus seating capacity and other numerical trends. Well, I've noticed how much my blogging has declined over the past few years, going from 69 posts in 2008 (which included my posts on my old MySpace blog), to 44 in '09, to 37 last year, now to just 16 (this is #16) in 2011. It's not like I have less time this year than last (it's probably about the same amount really), but for whatever reasons I just don't find the time or motivation to blog much the past year. I've noticed my Wikipedia activity has also declined over the past year, though lately it seems to be increasing again. Even so, it's nowhere near the peak I hit back in late 2010.

Part of the decline with my blog here has been because I've been blogging on the Kent Patch website. Originally the idea was that I would blog about once a month there, but that hasn't panned out either. I have a blog in the works, but have found the current reading audience there really isn't all that interested in sports, so I'm far less motivated to write blog posts there since my topic is sports. The only post that got any noticeable amount of comments was my post about the Kent-Ravenna football rivalry and how it's much older than it is credited for. The comments, however, came not because of interest in the topic, but more because one specific commenter thought they were smarter than they were and basically called me out for using the name "Kernel" for the 1923 Roosevelt yearbook, assuming that I was just "sloppy" in using that term instead of "Colonel". Well, unfortunately for that person, the 1923 Roosevelt yearbook was called "The Kernel" (The name The Colonel for the school publication seems to show up in the late 1930s/early 1940s, but it was never the name of the yearbook or "annal"). Most of the comments after were directed at that individual showing them how incorrect they were. It was nice to see that people were reading it, but most of my other posts seem to go unnoticed. Maybe people aren't commenting, but when I see other blogs getting regular comments, it's less motivating! Keep an eye out, though, on kent.patch.com for my blog. I just submitted a new post today, so it should be up in the next few days.

Another reason for the decline in blogging is, I think, trying to figure out which direction to take this blog. Do I want it more personal? Do I want it to be on certain topics I like? Do I want it to be reviewing products or experiences I've had? I already broke off the most personal aspects of the blog by creating a private blog. But lately, with my interest in local history at an all-time high, perhaps I should consider making a history blog separate from this one. My worry is that I have too many blogs to manage. At this point I'm thinking of making this more of my opinion blog (since it's subtitled "The World According to Jon") and having that cover my political rants and other opinions, while separating off my history posts to a new blog and possibly expanding my personal blog or having two personal blogs (keeping the existing one for my most personal opinions while making another one to share pictures and stories. Still much to think about!

Lastly, I think my interest in history has taken much of my motivation and time from blogging. For the past few months I've really been active in the Facebook group "You Know you are from Kent if/when..." I have posted several photos of local interest and have commented on many others that have been posted. I've learned tons of new things about Kent history and shared my own insights too. It's been a lot of fun and has been nice to be appreciated for what I have discovered about Kent history! If you're from Kent and on Facebook, be sure to check it out (and it's more than just history too!). It's a "closed" group, so a current group member has to add you, but it's easy to request.

Davey Discoveries

2011-10-10T23:30:00.000-04:00

When I posted last, I had hoped it would be the first of a succession of Kent Schools-related posts. Well, life had other plans. After an unexpected trip to the hospital at the end of August, surgery, recovery, getting back to work, and other life adventures the past month-and-a-half, I finally find myself able to start catching up on blogging again.

I decided to blog again about what many in Kent refer to as the Davey building. It is currently Davey Elementary School, but opened originally as Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1922, as Davey Junior High School in 1959, and Davey Middle School in 1993. After a major renovation in 1999-2000, it reopened in August 2000 as Davey Elementary School. It is the oldest school building in the Kent City School District (DePeyster School is actually older, but no longer serves as a school). As I talked about in my blog post about Davey last year, I attended the building for grades 6-8 in the mid 1990s during its run as Davey Middle School. Even as a student I recognized the building's rich history and was always fascinated by it and how much it has changed over the years. Recently, I've been able to find out even more about the building's early days and confirm some of my suspicions about how things were when it opened and even discover some things I never even knew!

Subbing at Roosevelt the last 2-plus years, I've spent some time in the teacher's lounge for lunch or other down time. In the lounge is a display case of Roosevelt memorabilia, which includes a photocopy of the 1922 dedication what is now Davey. I had been pining to get the case open to get that program and the 1959 program from the original portion of the current high school because I suspected the 1922 program had a map of the building when it was new which would answer some of the questions I had. I finally was able to get it open last month and was more than thrilled to find that the 1922 program did indeed have a detailed building map that not only shows the building's layout, but even details like where doors and windows were. I've also been participating in a Facebook group called "You Know You're From Kent if/when..." that has several history-minded people like myself and past Roosevelt graduates who attended school at "Old" Roosevelt and even scanned some yearbook pictures and/or shared experiences. It's been a lot of fun! Here are some of my discoveries and confirmations along with the building maps from the 1922 dedication of what was then Theodore Roosevelt High School.

I was particularly happy to see the picture on top of the southeast view of the school as it originally appeared. The 1966 addition to the school was built on this side, so you can't see it anymore. In the background you can see the end of the gym that is covered up and where the windows used to be on that side of the gym.

Approximate views from the 1922 angles as seen in 2006. As you can see in this second picture, not much has changed on this side!

1922 map of the basement and 1st floors. This confirmed what I suspected in my previous blog that the original balcony in the gym was three-sided. Today only one side remains (far left side) and it is separated by a wall from the rest of the gym and the floor on it was leveled, so most people don't even realize it was ever a balcony. Of course today the full balcony wouldn't work because a regulation-sized basketball court wouldn't fit on the floor below! The basement plan also shows where the original doors to the gym were that have been bricked over. Other points of interest include the boys and girls locker alcoves on the first floor, the "dental clinic" on the first floor, and a "foot warmer" where the display case is now across the hall from the main entrance to the auditorium (labeled as "Assembly Room"). I've been told the foot warmer is actually still there underneath the display case! My lingering question is whether or not the "passageway" on the left (west) side of the auditorium was open air or fully enclosed like it is now. The passageway on the right (east) side was most definitely open air with a roof prior to the construction of the 1966 addition. I also never realized that the far left (west) side of the 1st floor was one huge room originally. When I was at Davey it had long been divided into 3 rooms and today is divided into 2 rooms (music and art) with 2 offices in between. This building was also the home of the entire Board of Education too!

Map of the 2nd and 3rd floors in 1922. I was surprised to see the emergency exit on the front right corner of the balcony. That doorway is still there, but goes into the back of the teacher prep room (where the copy machine is) that is located in what used to be a staircase. Both staircases on the right side of the building were removed during the 1966 addition. I couldn't help but notice how many staircases there are in this building (particularly staircases that are more than likely emergency exits), which leads me to believe it was influenced by the Collinwood School Disaster just a few years prior (1908).

Another discovery made recently was the sign that was once over the front doors. Last year a local antique dealer, Don Barrett, found a large metal sign that read "THEODORE ROOSEVELT HIGH" with "Class of 1933" in small letters below it. Roger Sidoti, who was principal of Roosevelt until this past summer, bought the sign and it's currently sitting in the wood shop at Roosevelt. There are some tentative plans to mount it and have it displayed at the high school. Where it was mounted at Davey is still visible (the bolt holes are still there) and one of the posted yearbook pictures from 1959 (last year the building served as Roosevelt) show the sign above the door. As far as I know it's only the second class memorial to get moved from "Old Roosevelt" to the current building, the other being a decorative medallion of the school seal from the Class of 1940 in the sidewalk in front of the main entrance off North Mantua Street. It had previously been in the sidewalk that goes straight out from the front entrance at Davey. All other class memorials are still at Davey. The current Roosevelt building has very few class memorials. Most class "gifts" these days are purchases of equipment or something low-key (Class of 1999, however, helped pay for the large metal Rough Rider sculpture at the main cafeteria entrance) versus the bronze plaques, lamp posts, and even a Bible verse (Psalm 90:12) that are all over and around Davey.

Front doors of Davey Elementary School on October 5, 2011 showing where the bolt holes are still visible.

Sign sitting on its side in the wood shop at Roosevelt. On the back are wedges that angled the sign down slightly.

Picture of the front doors at "Old" Roosevelt in late 1958/early 1959 in its last year as a high school. The metal
sign can be seen above the keystone of the arch. It even gives off a small triangular shadow showing that it was angled down slightly, which matches the structure of the sign currently sitting in the wood shop. The lamp posts seen are still there and were restored recently!

Class of 1925 Memorial from Psalm 90:12. This is over the main doors to the auditorium and is the first thing you see upon entering the school through the main front doors.

School seal from the Class of 1940. This is located in the sidewalk right in front of the entrance to the auditorium lobby facing North Mantua Street at the current Roosevelt High School. It is the only class monument currently on display at the high school that was moved from the previous building to the current one that I am aware of. It was previously located in a triangular area where the sidewalk from the main entrance (which lines up with the centerline of North Prospect Street) to what is now Davey met the intersection of Lowell, Whittier, Park, and Prospect. When I was a student at Davey, there was a similar medallion in the sidewalk that had been placed there in 1959 for the dedication of Davey Junior High School. It was removed during the 1999-2000 renovations and not replaced.

Location of the seal seen above at the current high school building. I had to brush it off before I took the picture above! "New" Roosevelt opened in 1959. This section of the building (auditorium addition) opened in late 1972.

Rough Rider Way

2011-08-21T00:08:00.001-04:00

Over the last few months, I've gotten into the habit of walking and jogging at the Roosevelt-Stanton campus pretty much every day or as close to that as possible (outside Sundays). It's relatively close, there isn't much car traffic to deal with (crossing the roads), and when I get there I have a choice of 2 all-weather tracks to use for my jogging. Only my ankle sprain in June derailed my walking for about a month and my jogging for a little longer than that (much to my dismay). I started when the weather first started getting a little warmer back in May (was very late this year) and lately have been going in the evening so that it's not as hot and the sun isn't scorching me too bad. Plus, after a certain time, Roosevelt Stadium is covered in shadows from the trees, so I can do my jogging there. The track at the adjacent Stanton Stadium has absolutely no shade at all, so I only jog there when it's dusk or cloudy.

Roosevelt Stadium, which got a new scoreboard and new
goalposts in the last few weeks!

Anyway, all that walking, especially the unshaded parts, definitely got me thinking. Now, for those who don't know me very well, while I love music and teaching, it wasn't my first passion. No, through elementary, middle, and much of high school I had every intention of being an architect. While I obviously didn't go down that career path, I still love architecture and designing buildings. Too often I find myself looking over a building and renovating it in my head; things I would change, additions I would make, etc. That has definitely been true for Roosevelt as well. Not only did I spend tons of time as a student there, but now as an employee I have even more time in there. These next few posts I'll share just some of my ideas; basically, the ideas I think could be feasible versus my more grandiose pipe dreams for Roosevelt High School. The first has to do with what most people know as "Roosevelt Drive".

We could have a special street sign like this (since it's not a city road)
or just use the traditional green and white Kent street sign format,
but either way it needs a street sign!

The road that goes across the entire Roosevelt Campus is known colloquially as "Roosevelt Drive". It goes west from a signaled intersection with North Mantua Street (SR 43) to an intersection with Hudson Road and Robert Drive. The road is not part of the city of Kent's road system--it's maintained by the school district--and has no street signs. As a result, it's often omitted from published maps of Kent and some of the older maps identify the road as the "Roosevelt Service Road" if it's on there at all. I've seen Google Earth label it as "Robert Drive" since it lines up with Robert Drive at Hudson Road. In any case, it has no official name and no signs to identify it. That's the first thing I'd like to change. I'd like to see it officially named "Rough Rider Way" complete with street signs at each end of the road, whether they be special red street signs with the Roosevelt "R" logo or the typical green Kent street signs with the city's tree logo. Basically something so it can be identified by anyone, especially people from out of town, for the purpose of giving directions. I chose "Rough Rider Way" because Kent already has a "Roosevelt Avenue" in the southwest part of the city, so having a Roosevelt Drive and a Roosevelt Avenue in two different parts of town could be somewhat confusing. Plus, the road at the high school includes Stanton Middle School, which also uses the Rough Rider mascot and it's how you get to Roosevelt Stadium and all the athletic facilities. I've seen many other schools use their team name as the name for the road and I must admit I was initially inspired by these metal collectible "street signs" I've seen in some of the classrooms that say "Rough Rider Way".

Wouldn't this look much better with
trees lining the sidewalk?

The other things I'd like to see along this newly-named Rough Rider Way are some trees! Walking along that road so many times now, I have lost count how many times I wish I had some shade. Most of the road is completely devoid of trees. On one part of the road, there can't be any trees because it parallels the main water line for the city of Akron. But the side of the road that has the sidewalk can definitely have some trees and the part that runs almost directly east-west could probably have trees on both sides. What I'd like to do is set up a program kind of like those brick-paving fundraisers where you can buy a personalized brick. Instead, you have it set up where people, families, businesses, and other organizations can pay to have a tree planted along this Rough Rider Way. It could even be tied in with the Urban Forestry class at Roosevelt not only for the physical act of planting and caring for the new trees, but also the research of what kinds of trees would work best for lining the road and even some research on what trees will turn red in the fall. Anyway, the cost would include the tree (maybe have more than one choice) and some kind of sign or plaque for a personalization aspect. I proposed this as an option for Kent's new Veterans Memorial Park, but I submitted it late and they went another direction anyway. Either way, I think not only would it create a shaded area for those that walk along the road (students walk between the two schools all the time and I'm hardly the only resident who uses the campus for exercise!), but in the fall, it would be quite a sight to have a whole line of trees on Rough Rider Way turn a blazing red. Added to that, we're beautifying the campus and hey, this IS the Tree City!

I recognize that there would be drawbacks, mostly maintenance issues and the removal of leaves in the fall. It would be interesting to see what kind of discussion or response such a plan would get if it were ever proposed. But in terms of cost, this would be largely self-supported. About the only cost would be the street signs for Rough Rider Way.

Map of campus, ca. 2005, showing in yellow where I would like to see trees and where they seem possible. The south side of the part of "Rough Rider Way" where it runs diagonally is over the main water line for the city of Akron, so we couldn't plant a row of trees there. The line runs diagonally across the entire campus. There could also be trees on parts of the other roads on campus if the program were popular enough!

Tree Top Villas

2011-08-19T01:42:00.000-04:00

Front view of our unit at Tree Top Villas

I'm pretty sure this is my last post related to the big family trip to Pennsylvania, but I did want to post a little about the place we stayed for the week we were there. One of the great things about the web tracker I have on this blog from Feedjit.com (it's on the right column a little ways down the page) is not only telling me where my blog traffic is coming from, but many times it tells me why they came to the site in the first place. When you click on "real-time view" you can often see what browser the reader used, what time they visited, and if they came via a weblink, what website that came from. If they came from a search engine, it will usually say what search term they were using that my blog came up under. As a result, I wanted to make this post for those who might do a search for the resort we stayed, the Tree Top Villas in Bushkill, PA. That's why I did my recent post on the whole AT&T U-Verse thing too; just in case it could be of help to someone searching the world wide web!

Rear view of our unit

As I said in my recent post "Five-year photo", my grandma selected Tree Top Villas about a year ago after my sister had looked through every available property we could go to and evaluated the nearby attractions and resort amenities. We had 18 total people (though had a friend of my sister for one night before we took her to JFK) and had 4 total units. The unit I stayed in with my 3 siblings was a 3-bedroom unit, which apparently are fairly recent additions to the complex. We had 6 people in the unit (7 for one night) and it had 6 total beds, though it can comfortably sleep 8 people in the beds. The master bedroom has a king-sized bed and one of the upstairs rooms has a queen-sized bed. The third bedroom (where I slept) had 2 double beds and then there's a loft area overlooking the living room that had 2 twin beds. There was a couch bed too, so total, it could technically sleep 10 people if absolutely needed. In addition, we also had 6 family members in an adjacent 3-bedroom unit (it was right next to ours and was simply a mirror-reflection of it), 2 in a 2-bedroom unit not too far from us, and then my grandparents were with an aunt and uncle in a 2-bedroom unit on the opposite side of the property from us. I was never in either of the 2-bedroom units, so can't really comment on them. My grandma thought theirs was difficult for people their age (my grandparents are in their 80s) because it had a lot of stairs. Their unit, according to my aunt, was also much older and not in the best of shape. The other 2-bedroom unit, from what I heard, was newer and in better shape but was the same basic floorplan.

View from the front door

I can comment on our unit, though! Overall, I liked it. The layout was nice and open and as soon as you walk in, you're greeted with a nice dining area, an open kitchen behind it, and a very nice staircase going up to the bedrooms. The loft overlooking the living room was a nice touch, though I'm not really a big fan of the beds being in the loft. I'd much rather have the beds be in an actual bed room. One feature that our unit had that the adjacent unit did not was a few extra windows. That was because our unit was on the end of the group (there were 4 units together), so it could have a few side windows instead of just on the front and back. For someone like me, that was an added touch, plus the window we had at the top of the stairs provided me with one of those "memorable moments" from the trip. I was opening the mini-blinds to it one morning and my 20 month-old nephew was coming up the stairs with his mom (my sister) and saw me opening it. His face lit up and he said "Windows! Yeah windows!" and went over to look out. I like windows too, but I've never seen anyone get that excited for them! Just think, if we had been in the adjacent unit (which obviously didn't have a window at the top of the stairs like that) I wouldn't have been able to experience that fun moment. Anyway, there were quite a few windows on the front and back, so you could have your privacy, but still let lots of natural light in. All the rooms had a ceiling fan too, which I very much appreciated! The furniture was good enough and having a washer and dryer (and dishwasher) was a nice touch. I never used the washer and dryer, but my sisters did.

The columns as seen from the front door

There were a few things that I didn't care for, most of which are quite minor and cosmetic. First, the way the unit was designed had these stylish columns right along the main hallway when you came in. I like columns and all, but these were placed in such a way that they narrowed that hallway considerably. While it seemed they were structurally necessary, I could see that they could've easily been placed further out or not used at all without compromising the structural integrity of the 2nd floor. The master bedroom has an unusual layout too. It has its own bathroom with a shower, but it also has a whirlpool and sauna that are actually part of the bedroom. I just found it odd. While yes, for the most part the people using the master bedroom will be the only people using the whirlpool and sauna, that's not always true, plus it makes the whole bedroom humid and steamy when it's being used. I would much rather have that be part of the bathroom (which was a separate room attached to the bedroom) than part of the bedroom. The other thing I was disappointed with was that many of the technology things, like the TVs and phones, were pretty dated. Each bedroom and the living room had a TV (the one in my room would not change channels at all), but they were older TVs with the old 4:3 format instead of a widescreen. I could understand the bedrooms maybe not having new widescreen TVs, but just putting one in the living room would instantly update the room without changing anything else. The TVs weren't just old-looking, though, they were starting to look fuzzy and have picture quality problems too. I know, the TVs don't make or break it and we certainly don't come out there to watch TV, but sometimes it's nice to sit back and relax while watching TV or a movie, so having a TV that's in good shape (and at least CLOSE to as good as what I have at home) is much appreciated. The light switches were also in somewhat bizarre places for some of the rooms and the fans were controlled by those round dimmer switches from the 1980s. The bedroom doors have closers on them, so the only way I could keep the door open to prevent the room from being absolutely freezing from the air conditioning, was to prop it open. I didn't really understand the point of having the doors do that, and it was only the bedroom doors, not the bathroom doors.

View from the loft

My biggest complaint was the Internet service there. The resort has access to wireless Internet, but only via AT&T hotspots, not a wireless network of its own. As a result, if you don't have AT&T at home you can opt to pay for Internet service to access the hotspot, or like us, you can log in using your AT&T U-Verse account. While it worked out for us, even so the entire complex was using the same hotspot. As a result, Internet was very slow, and that was after the headache of just getting online in the first place! For the amount of money people are paying to stay there, decent Internet service isn't too much to ask. Again, like TV, it's not why we come there, but it's how most people stay in touch and connected these days. My brother, for instance, still had to work while he was there, so he needed Internet access. It's not that expensive to set up a simple wireless network that can properly handle the traffic from the complex, and they could even add a small fee to the bills and no one would even notice or care. Instead, it was like stepping back in time about 15 years to the days of long-distance (there was even a charge to make local calls!) and slow Internet (the speed was almost as slow as dial-up).

Master bedroom with sauna, whirlpool, and fireplace

The complex had the amenities I expected. It's built around a golf course, so those that like to golf were happy. There was at least one miniature golf course there as well. The pools were decent. I only went swimming twice, but when I did they seemed adequate. I believe there are 4 pools total. Each is in an indoor-outdoor pair and then the one closest to us had a hot tub. I did like how the pools had towels to use so you didn't need to bring your own (though we figured that out after we brought our own). With each pool complex was also a game room with a few video games and some other game options too. I obviously had plenty to keep me occupied outside the resort, so I really didn't use a lot of the amenities to really evaluate them. Compared to other places we have stayed, they were right what I expected. Nothing glamorous or exciting, but not in bad shape or awful either.

Living room with aforementioned TV

Breakfast area...window on left was one of
the "extra" windows we had because the
unit was on the end of the row.

Living room looking into kitchen and breakfast area

Stairway above the dining area. I loved the curved railing!

Upstairs. The door on the far right was where my room was

Loft area overlooking living room

The room I stayed in

Hello New York!

2011-08-17T01:01:00.000-04:00

So much has happened the last few weeks, now I'm finally able to catch up on blogging. My last post related to my most recent trip is about my 2 fun visits to New York City on July 31st and August 3rd. I've already talked about the nightmare trip on August 1st, so no need to go there again! Anyway, ever since I found out that the trip was going to be in eastern PA within driving distance to New York I knew I would make at least one trip to the city while I was there. As time grew closer I decided to make a trip to New York on my own. What transpired was a lot of fun (and a lot of walking)!

PATH Train from Newark to the WTC

Back in 2009, while my brother was still living in the Washington, DC area, I took a trip to see him on my Spring Break during student teaching. I didn't really do a whole lot while there (I was mostly just getting out of town and relaxing), but one of the days I drove his car to the nearest Metro station and took the Metro into town and just spent most of the day visiting things I wanted to see and enjoying the scenery. I also got a lot of great pictures. Well, with that in mind, I wanted to do something like that in New York; just take a day and go explore the city by myself and not worry about anyone else. Initially I was going to park in Jersey City or Newark and take the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) train into Manhattan, but a friend of mine told me if I was going in on Sunday I could probably drive into Manhattan and find on-street parking. To make a long story short, he was right and amazingly I found on-street parking for free. Granted, when I crossed the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan I started thinking to myself "what the heck am I doing?!?" but I finally managed to maneuver my way through the river of traffic and I found parking on a residential street between 5th and 6th Avenues. First thing after parking was I double checked to make sure it was even a legal space to park (it was) and then I found a subway station. After paying some $26 to ride the London Subways back in 2007, finding out that the NYC Subway was only $2.25 for every time you enter the system (unlimited transfers), it felt practically free! I got on the first train that came and took it to the end of the line, which was City Hall. Just FYI, though, on-street parking is only available in a lot of places on Sunday. Where I parked the sign said "No parking Except Sundays".

Finally got some pictures with the Brooklyn Bridge!

I had a great time re-introducing myself to the city. I hadn't been to New York since I was in middle school. My dad took my sisters and I on an East Coast trip in 1996 which included stops in Hershey, Valley Forge, Philadelphia, and New York. We actually left the van in Philly and took the Amtrak train to New York and stayed there I think 3 days in a hotel along 8th Avenue. In any case, a lot has changed since 1996 as anyone can imagine. Most of the places I explored I ended up visiting later when I came back on August 3rd with my sisters, dad, and brother-in-law. It didn't bother me though because I could be somewhat of a guide. Being able to use the Subway system again got me familiarized with the whole map system they use (it's not easy to read quick if you aren't familiar with it), so I was much more of a help on the 3rd. I was also able to meet up with a friend from Flickr.com who lives in Queens. He showed me around a bit and it was great to meet him!

New 1 World Trade Center under
construction in Manhattan

Seeing the World Trade Center site for the first time since 2001 was surreal. I vaguely remember it from the trip in 1996, where we took the elevator up to the 107th floor of the South Tower to the observation deck. We couldn't go on the roof that day because of high winds (which we got to experience on the Empire State Building observation deck!). I remember being up in the tower a lot more than the plaza around it. Somewhere I have pictures I took of it, but they're in a box somewhere! Anyway, seeing the massive construction site and remembering being there in '96 and seeing what I saw on the news in 2001, it was hard to believe it was the same place. September 11th is a day that anyone who lived through and was aware of what was going on just never forgets. I was showing some kids at Roosevelt a documentary about it back in May. The same emotions I remember from that day were resurfacing as I watched the video.

Manhattan Temple

It was cool to see the Manhattan LDS Temple, right across from Lincoln Center and only a block from Central Park. Both trips I went to the park via the 66th Street Subway Station, so I saw the temple both days. It's not the most spectacular temple, but it fits in without totally blending it. Kinda cool to see Angel Moroni on a spire in the middle of Manhattan! Both trips were a lot of fun. Being there solo was just a chance for me to be on my own and go at my own pace. It was also a chance for me to be alone, which I really don't get a lot of these days. The trip with my dad, sisters, and brother-in-law was fun too getting to spend time with them and seeing all the sites. It was also nice having been there a few days earlier so I had a little bit of familiarity with where everything was. The laminated map I got from my friend (who also recommended driving into Manhattan on Sunday) was a HUGE help!!

Vesey Street at the WTC site

Couple things I did learn: 1st, New Yorkers in general are very aggressive drivers. Not just New York City, but the entire metro area. They won't honk or swear at you if you just barge over into their lane or drive close to them (especially in congestion), but don't go slow. Going slow is the ultimate sin in New York driving. Keep up with traffic. Don't drive like that in Ohio though. We'll think you're nuts and probably give you the finger if you cut us off or drive too close like that! Next, I also learned that I never really want to drive in New York again. It's so slow (SOOOO much congestion everywhere) and frustrating. Traffic congestion is one of the quickest ways to drive me insane. I'm just not sure why anyone would ever commute into New York by car. If I ever lived in the NYC area, I'd definitely live near a subway line or a train line. Not only is traffic absolutely miserable, but there are tolls galore on pretty much every bridge and tunnel (at least in one direction). The tolls are cheaper for residents and those with the automated EZ-Pass, but still...that can add up in a hurry! I also learned that for me, New York is a great place to visit. Keyword VISIT. It made me even more grateful for living in good old Kent, Ohio and the whole road system we have in the Cleveland area. It's not because I think New York is a horrible place; New York is a great place, but it's definitely not for me.

On the subway

Anyway, a great couple of trips sandwiched around one of the worst driving experiences of my life! I'm glad I was able to go to New York and hope my next visit is in less than the 15 years between the first and second visits!

Five-year photo

2011-08-16T03:36:00.002-04:00

Nate and me during picture time...thanks to my cousin
Lindsay for this great picture!

Although it seemed a bit overshadowed by my car problems, I did actually have a great time on the trip to Pennsylvania that was mainly to celebrate my Ridinger grandparents' 60th anniversary and to get our traditional five-year photo. This year, we all met at the Tree Top Villas in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, which is right along the Delaware River in eastern PA. Being less than 2 hours from New York City resulted in 3 trips there for me, 2 to sight-see and the other being that horrific adventure to and from JFK airport that I mentioned in my previous post.

This trip was set up about about 2 years ago when my grandma first started looking into where to have the family gather for their 60th anniversary and the photo. The site was selected about a year ago after my sister had requested we go somewhere else besides the traditional Lake Lure, North Carolina location. She looked over all the options and made a list of several that had amenities and attractions she liked and my grandma picked the one in Pennsylvania. My grandparents' anniversary is actually in June, but the last 3 "big ones" (50th, 55th, and 60th) we've celebrated with these big family trips. Outside of my siblings, pretty much all of the family lives in Ohio, my aunt and uncle in Virginia Beach being the exception. And in Ohio, we're all in Kent or near Kent, so we see each other pretty regularly. The five-year photo, which has been a family tradition since the 1960s, has had quite a history, especially the last few!

2001 photo at Old Key West in the Disney World complex.
My brother was on his mission at the time.

In 2001 we all went to Florida for grandma and grandpa's 50th. I always had to include we weren't going down there because they were already down there, but all of us were taking a trip there together since most people seemed to assume since it was for my grandparents, they must already live in Florida! That trip was actually in June, so was right after around their anniversary. I drove down with them that year and was the only one with them on their actual anniversary. I remember we had a nice lunch right on the beach in Flagler Beach, Florida that day before getting to Orlando where we stayed for the week. That was the first time we had ever done the photo "on location" (i.e. not in Ohio) and the first time we ever all wore matching t-shirts (which my sister Becky designed) instead of more formal wear. That year, all the shirts were yellow for the "golden" anniversary. It was the 2nd extended-family trip we had taken, gathering in North Carolina 2 years earlier. It was also the first time we did the photo as part of my grandparents' anniversary. Before 2001, we did the photo irregardless to when their anniversary was. Instead, we just did it whenever the family could get together, which was often in the summer, but not always. The 1996 photo, for instance, was done in November.

Unedited 2006 photo in Lake Lure, NC

The next trip, 5 years later in 2006, was in Lake Lure, North Carolina. That's where my grandparents' regular time share is, so they are down there once every year. My siblings and I had been there twice before, in 1994 and for the big get-together in 1999. The difference for the photo in 2006 was that my grandma wanted us to wear color-coordinated t-shirts that separated us by family. That way it was easier for my grandma to tell her friends who everyone was and who they belonged to. Of course, the day we took the photo it was about 95 degrees and humid, plus we lacked a professional photographer to really position us to get the best shots (which was also true this year, oh well). It was so hot, we all just wanted to get the picture and get out of there. My brother had to photoshop quite a bit of sweat off several of the shirts in the picture!

Unedited 2011 photo with spaces left for those missing

This year's photo was similar to 2006 in that we were again in color-coordinated shirts. The difference this year was who wore what colors. My immediate family was the only one who didn't change (blue), and that's due to both my youngest sister Becky and me having blue as our favorite color. The other difference was that Becky screen-printed the word "FAMILY" on the back of each shirt, with the letters made up of each of our names. We also had 2 people missing from the photo this year (a cousin and my sister-in-law), so they will be photoshopped into the picture later. When my brother was missing from the 2001 photo (he was in Hungary on his LDS mission), my grandma simply got a picture of him wearing the yellow t-shirt after he got home (he got home later that summer), cut it out in an oval around his face, and then pasted it on the actual picture. I guess you can call that an "old fashioned photoshop"! Anyway, as this year's photo looks now, there are just missing spaces in the picture. Of the 8 grandkids in the family, half them are from my immediate family. Now that we've added 2 spouses and a child to that plus my dad is engaged, the blue people (I referred to us as the "Smurfs") kind of dominate the picture, even as we tried to spread out.

My siblings and me Brady Bunch-style!

There was some discussion as to whether this will be the last 5-year photo. While I doubt we'll be doing this mass vacation again, I don't anticipate not doing the photo in 5 years unless both grandparents have passed on. While it's certainly possible (both are in their 80s), my great-grandma lived to 95, so I'm expecting at least my grandma to live another 10 years or so (if not longer) and it wouldn't surprise me if my grandpa made it another 5. If he does, he'll be 92 at the next picture! Either way, I expect at least one more with the extended Ridinger family and then we'll probably break off into individual families as we will most likely have a lot more spouses and kids in the next photo anyway! That seems to be the evolution of the photo as it originally started out with my great-grandparents getting a family photo of their kids and grandkids. The first four-generation photo was the 1981 picture with my brother. As the respective families of my grandmother and her brother grew, the photo changed in 1986 and just included my great-grandparents and the children and grandchildren of my grandma. This year's photo with my nephew Nathan was the first four-generation photo since 1996, the last photo my great-grandma was in.

Back of this year's shirt

Anyway, I'm sure you're all fascinated by the history of the Ridinger family photo, but there you have it. All in all a great trip, plus it was great having all of my siblings together again, an event which happens now only once a year if that. My next posts will have more about my side trips to New York and where we stayed in PA. Outside that disaster coming back from JFK (no, I didn't take pictures!) I had a great time visiting the Big Apple for the first time in 15 years!

Roller coaster

2011-08-12T19:59:00.002-04:00

So in my last post I alluded to the "roller coaster" I was in the midst of when This is Kirtland! opened at the beginning of July. Basically, it was just a series of events one after the other that took me from the end of June to the middle of August. Well, here I am in the middle of August and that roller coaster has basically come to an end, but in ways I never thought or hoped! Don't worry, I'm still OK and overall the "ride" was fun, but there were some unexpected surprises along the way that I could've done without.

With Katie at Camp Pennyroyal in Kentucky on July 23

Soon after the show was over I went to Nashville with my Mom to visit my brother and sister-in-law. While we were there we also took a side trip to visit my sister at the summer camp she was working at in Kentucky, about a 2-hour trip from my brother's. While we were down south, the weather was hotter than hades down there and even here, part of that huge heat wave that covered most of the US. Thankfully, I was able to stay inside through most of it and have a relaxing time in Nashville. It was also nice to visit my sister and meet all the people she was connected with at camp.

We got home from that Monday, July 25th, and then I had a few days before I had to get ready for my next adventure, the Ridinger family get-together in Bushkill, Pennsylvania. Before I left for that I had most of the week to myself and even helped my mom teach kickball to 2 cub scouts (it's not easy with just 3 people!). I also discovered that all 4 of my tires needed replaced, so I had that done Friday during the day, the same day my sister Becky was visiting with my brother-in-law and my nephew (they were here to come to the get-together in PA too). Little did I know that would be the least of my car's problems soon! On Friday night (the 29th) I had the opportunity to "reprise" my role as Lorenzo Snow as part of the Kirtland Stake's Youth Conference. We had several of the cast members come back and get into costumes to portray their characters in Historic Kirtland. My role was that of tour guide and I took my group to 4 different places in Historic Kirtland where different characters talked to the groups. It was a lot of fun even though it was suuuuuper humid that night. Because of that commitment, I had decided to put off getting a haircut until after I did that (though no one else did so), so the next morning I finally got a haircut and it felt absolutely wonderful!

In Manhattan at Battery Park with the new 1 WTC rising
behind me, July 31, 2011.

After the haircut, I headed off to Pennsylvania and made the 6-hour trip along I-80 to a resort called Tree Top Villas in the little town of Bushkill, PA, right along the Delaware River and the border with New Jersey. That trip was uneventful and very smooth. The next morning (after staying up late to talk to my brother!) I drove myself to New York City (about 2 hours away) and amazingly parked for free on the streets of Manhattan. I had a great time visiting New York for the first time since 1996 and doing so by myself. I met up with a friend of mine there and we hung out for the evening before I headed back to the resort. I'll definitely blog more in detail about that as well as the 2nd trip to NYC a few days later with my dad, sisters, and brother-in-law. The next day was the big 5-year family photo, which went OK I guess. Later that day I took my sister and her friend to the JFK airport in New York so her friend could go back home to the England. Getting there was somewhat of a struggle, mostly though traffic, but getting back was a nightmare. What should've been a 4-5 hour round-trip turned into an 9 hour round-trip. Part of it was me missing a turn and not being totally sure where I was headed on Long Island's antiquated Parkway System of roads. The other factor was the absolutely horrible traffic. It seemed no matter which way we went there was total gridlock. I cannot stand traffic congestion for long periods of time, so I was going crazy. There were points it felt like we were never going to get home.

New York Stock Exchange, August 3

Just when it seemed like we were finally back on track and clear of the traffic, then things REALLY got interesting. I had begun to notice that it seemed like I was having to push harder on the brakes while were constantly stopping and going. We came to the Triborough Bridge (between Queens, The Bronx, and Manhattan) and I was trying to get the toll out and bumped into the lady in front of me. Thankfully nothing happened as a result to either car (I was obviously not going very fast since I had been in line forever), but I then noticed that the brakes went completely to the floor. I thought I had pretty much lost the brakes completely and then I have this toll worker telling me I need to slow down since it "coulda been a lot worse." At that point I was so tired and irritated and now worried because I didn't know if I had brakes that I just nodded and drove away, albeit slower (which made someone honk their horn at me...New Yorkers HATE it when you go slow for anything). I wanted to say "Slow?!? I've been stuck in your $%*@*%$ city for 5 hours going 5 miles per hour and you wanna tell me to slow down?!?" Anyway, next I had to cross the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan to New Jersey and used the emergency brake just to make sure. I debated pulling off and calling AAA but at that point I just wanted to get home, so once we got across the bridge and back onto I-80, I simply was a little slower and kept my distance from any car in front of me. I did have minimal use of the regular brakes; it just took much more effort on my part. I came to find later it was basically that the brake boosters were out, but I still had brakes. We finally made it back to our condo at like 11:15 after leaving around 2:30. I pretty much lost it with my sister. I was physically and mentally exhausted.

Times Square, August 3. I absolutely love this picture!

Well, I figured there was obviously a leak in the brake line, so two days later I took the car into a local dealership to have it looked at. I left it there as I went back to New York with my dad, sisters, and brother in law. Well, of course I come to find that not only is the ENTIRE brake system rusted (on a 6 year-old car no less), but that the work would take me into the next week. Too bad it was Wednesday and I was due to leave Friday. Initially I said go ahead and do it, but then after talking to Mom (cell phone reception in Manhattan is actually HORRIBLE!) and others decided not to. There was no way I could stay there with the car and no way to tow it back without renting a U-Haul truck. My AAA towing only got me 100 miles and I was 350 miles from home. I ended up hiring a company to have it shipped back here to Kent. It cost me the same as if I had rented a U-Haul truck and towed it back myself ($350). The car was delivered Tuesday and work started on it Thursday (for less than the original estimate too). Shockingly, the car was done today (Friday) and that included some other work that needed to be done.

The last part of my roller coaster wasn't that bad as I had two more performances. The day I got back from Pennsylvania, I had about 20 minutes to change and then my mom and I went up to Kirtland to sing in the Kirtland Temple for the Joseph Smith, Sr.-Lucy Mack Smith Family Reunion going on that entire weekend. We sang the 2 number that we sang at the 175th anniversary of the temple's dedication back in March and then did some of the actual hymns performed at the temple's dedication. I was sooooo tired and irritated at that point, but it's always nice to sing in the Kirtland Temple. I also performed again for the same group at a dinner they had in Mayfield, Ohio (very close to Kirtland) with some of the cast members from This is Kirtland! I performed "Lorenzo's Song with Rylee Mitchell, who played my sister Eliza R. Snow in the show. Other cast members performed 2 other songs from the show. It was nice to see a few cast members again and sing that song one last time.

Liftoff, we have liftoff!

2011-07-02T15:18:00.001-04:00

This was in the Record-Courier yesterday. I wrote the
caption and my dad took the picture. Thanks to
Roger Di Paolo and Laura Nethken!

It's July, which only means one thing for me the last few years: another year of This is Kirtland! We opened last night for our 8th season. I'm finding it hard to believe we are already open now as time has just flown by. We've been out of school for a month already and by the time the show clsoes July 16, the month will be half over and then I go into two back-to-back trips that take me into August.

Because of not being able to find a teaching job yet and subbing, I find myself looking forward to school being back in session. Never thought I'd hear myself say that! But as much as I like having lots of free time and being able to sleep in a lot, not having very much income coming in during the summer makes it somewhat difficult to really enjoy. Oh well...it is what it is and after last summer, I made sure I saved enough money to get me by if I wasn't able to find a summer job, which has so far been the case. Given the roller coaster ride I'm just now beginning, I doubt I'll be able to find anything before school starts again at the end of August.

I am also in the midst of taking three graduate credit hours at Kent State to renew my teaching license, which officially expired yesterday. One class is online and deals with the use of social networking in education. It started June 20 and officially ends July 10. I have been working ahead in that class so that all I have left is the final paper (5 pages) and a discussion post. I pretty much have gotten everything done for the week at the beginning of the week. That was especially helpful this past week because my second class was a 3-day class on campus on how to better use SMART boards. We met Wednesday-Friday at White Hall from 8 AM-Noon. Even though I already have familiarity with SMART boards from my MAT degree classes and a few times where I've used them subbing, I learned some additional things and enjoyed the workshop. Even better was the fact that there weren't any written assignments that I had to worry about, so it was a pretty easy class!

Now, on to the show. I was pretty worried these past few weeks leading up, but as usual, most things came together for us to have a good opening night. It was by no means perfect, but I was very pleased overall with how things went. Definitely things to improve on for tomorrow and the rest of the run, but all in all, I wasn't disappointed at all. I'm finding that the joy of being in the show I had back in 2009 is back this year, which I'm really happy about. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 2010's run, but in many ways it was frustrating, especially compared to 2009. The difference for me is how I feel about going to practices. In 2009 I looked forward to going to rehearsals, while in 2010 it wasn't something I looked forward to all that much. Here in 2011 I found myself again looking forward to rehearsals and have found my testimony of the Gospel getting stronger. It's fascinating to me to see how Church history affects my testimony along with anti-Mormons.

Anyway, I'm excited about this year's run and my role as Lorenzo Snow. After being Sidney Rigdon the past two years, I was ready for a change and have really enjoyed the process of learning a new part and having 2 solos in the show. When the Lorenzo Snow part was added in 2009, it was a part I really wanted because I liked the solo he has so much. It didn't work out for me that year (I was Sidney Rigdon that year and thoroughly enjoyed that part). This year Lorenzo's role has been expanded somewhat and the main solo he has now includes a small duet with his sister Eliza R. Snow that sounds great! My other solo is in a totally new song about building the Kirtland Temple. It's not a Lorenzo Snow solo (especially since historically Lorenzo Snow joined the Church after the Temple was dedicated), but I really enjoy singing it in the middle of that song, which features quite a bit of choreography for the entire cast. Hopefully tonight I will sing it a little better than I did last night. It wasn't horrible, but could've been a lot better. I have also enjoyed learning more and more about the history in this area and the characters in the show, especially my own character. He grew up in nearby Mantua, Ohio, right here in Portage County, so it's neat to be able to portray him on stage.

The other development related to the show I was very happy about was my own ankle. 3 weeks ago I sprained it pretty badly in dance rehearsal. It was a "high ankle sprain", meaning I had some spectacular bruises on my foot (in 4 places) and on my leg just below the calf (2 bruises, one fairly large). Since then I've done my best to stay off my foot as much as I can and while it's definitely not back at 100% (my last ankle sprain, also the "high" variety, took a little over a month to totally heal), it's well enough that I can dance both the men's dance (which is where the injury happened) and the couple's dance. I started doing the couple's dance again about a week ago, but was only able to start practicing the men's dance on Wednesday. I am happy to report that I relearned it enough that I pulled it off for last night's opening. It can still be better, but considering how much I couldn't remember on Wednesday, I was pretty thrilled with how Friday went for both dances :). I still can't really jump, but I do my best.

So, for those of you in the Northeast Ohio area, we still have shows tonight as well as July 7-9 and 14-16 at 7:30 PM. Doors open at 7 PM at the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, at 8751 Kirtland Road (S.R. 306). I've been told the show on the 14th is full due to tour groups and a youth conference, so hopefully many of you can come to another night. I'm sure we could fit a few extra then if we absolutely needed to! And don't forget, there is NO admission cost and no, we won't be passing a basket around or asking for any kind of donations either. If you do want to come and let me know in advance, I can get you reserved seats too!

Passing on some info

2011-06-28T01:23:00.000-04:00

I've discovered a few things about AT&T U-Verse the past few months in terms of aspect ratio and HD programming that I wanted to pass along. Both of my grandparents have U-Verse and both have HD service and HD flat-screen TVs. My Derby grandparents got U-Verse way back in 2007 when it was still new because my grandpa had an HD TV that he wanted to get more out of (i.e. HD channels). Right off the bat, despite paying for HD channels, he wasn't happy about how they looked and it seemed they never displayed totally right on the TV. We always had to mess with the aspect ratio and adjust the picture so it fit correctly. The control box for U-Verse also has a little blue light on it to indicate it is getting an HD signal. Despite several phonecalls to AT&T early on, he was never able to get that little blue light to come on.

Well, last year the original HD TV (which weighed a ton or so it seemed) up and died, so he got a new flatscreen TV to replace it. I figured that would help some of the aspect ratio problems since the old TV was a very early HD TV (from 2002). We got it all set up, but it still seemed to have problems. Not only did we still have to set it at "Zoom" even on HD channels, but when we did so, the edges of the picture were cut off. In most cases that's not a big deal, but on channels like ESPN, CNN, Fox News, etc. with a ticker on the bottom, you can't read it. Because of that, my grandpa would leave the setting at normal, so even HD channels would be displayed with a huge black box around them. My Ridinger grandparents, who had also gotten an HD TV and AT&T U-Verse in 2008, had the same problem with the picture being cut off along the edges. They really didn't care, but it bothered my dad and me.

Earlier this year I was looking into getting U-Verse phone service for my Derby grandparents to combine their phone, Internet, and TV since TV and Internet were already coming from U-Verse and the landline was from AT&T anyway. While looking into whether running 2 phone lines into the same router the TV and computers were also using would affect Internet speed, I stumbled across some U-Verse forums that talked about the settings for the AT&T control box, particularly how to change the aspect ratio. When I had the chance a little while later (maybe a few days or so), I checked the settings at my Derby grandparents house and sure enough, it was set at 4:3 standard definition. So, not only was the signal coming in without the HD, it was being formatted for a traditional square TV, hence the need to use "Zoom" on the TV (to eliminate the black box around the picture) and why it displayed with the full black box around the picture when in "normal" mode. The AT&T box was putting the vertical black bars on either side of the picture (formatting it into 4:3) and the TV itself was putting the horizontal bars above and below the picture too. I switched it to 1080i (the highest available), and boom, not only did that solve the problem of picture size, it also made that little blue HD light come on. AT&T boxes are automatically set at 4:3, but few people seem to realize that. As a result, people are paying for HD channels, but are getting cheated a bit because it's not as sharp as it should be and it's not displaying properly, either with edges cut off using the TV's Zoom setting or with the black box around the picture. If you have a flatscreen TV that is HD capable, then it can handle the highest setting.

When I figured that out, I thought I had figured out the problem with my Ridinger grandparents' TV as well. Once I was finally able to have time to "mess" with it (both my Ridinger and Derby grandparents have the TV on much of the day, so it's hard to get time to do anything with it), I discovered it was slightly more complex. Even after switching the settings to 1080i, it still wasn't displaying correctly on the TV and was cutting off the edges. What I found out was that the AT&T box was connected to the TV by way of a standard coaxial cable, so even though it was now properly receiving HD signals (the little blue light came on), the box had no way of relaying that to the TV because of the cable. So I went to Walmart and bought an HDMI cable and plugged it in. While that made a noticeable difference with the picture quality, I noticed it was still cutting off the edges on channels like CNN, ESPN, Fox News, etc., channels that use the tickers on the bottom and/or side of the screen. Through trial and error, I discovered to correct that, I had to set the AT&T box back to 4:3 standard definition, then put it on 1080i again. And by set, I mean totally set and confirmed it. Once I did that, problem solved. The other day my dad was over there and he did something to the TV or AT&T and the edges were being cut off again, so I had him set it at 4:3, then change it back to 1080i and it corrected it again. No idea why, but it did.

SO, if you're having problems with your AT&T U-Verse not displaying correctly, make sure it's set properly! It can be found using the AT&T menu, go to "Options", down to "setup options", and then to "aspect ratio". When you choose a screen resolution, you select it, then the TV will "test" it, and if it displays a picture, you confirm the change. Make sure your TV itself has the aspect ratio setting at "Set by program" or "Automatic". This varies by TV, but it usually found in the TV Menu under video settings or Setup. Some TV remotes have an aspect ratio button on them. Also, make sure your AT&T box is connected to your TV with the proper cables, either HDMI or HD component video cables (has blue, green, and red ends), not the typical red, white, and yellow component cables or coaxial cable (black and round). When your AT&T box is receiving HD, a little blue LED light should come on. It's located on the front of the box in the middle and is labeled.

Downtown Kent updates

2011-04-23T23:10:00.004-04:00

I actually started writing this yesterday talking about how I hadn't been able to get new pictures of the progress in downtown Kent since this past fall when I took pictures just as demolition work was starting. Well, today ended up being a beautiful day perfect for going downtown (I walked there from home) and getting pictures. The Earth Day festival known as "Who's Your Mama" was going on along East Main Street, so there were quite a few people downtown for that. The weather was partly cloudy and windy, but around 72 degrees. I had a wonderful time just getting out and walking!

The demolition ended up being in phases. The block bordered by South Water, East Erie, South DePeyster, and Haymaker was cleared first. A few weeks later, the old Record-Courier office was torn down. That was done before the winter really set in, so for the last several months we've had this big open area downtown (except for the little green shelter for the gas line) kinda waiting for something to happen. Meanwhile, PARTA had to go through some legal wrangling to get the last property for their facility, which they got in the last few weeks. The last building they need to tear down is a former auto parts warehouse. Before construction can begin on the new hotel, a 3-story brick house on East Erie Street behind where the Record-Courier office will also need to be torn down.

Above is a picture from September just as demolition had started. The picture below is today from roughly the same angle. A point of reference is the two trees with the lamp post in between them on the left of both pictures. The construction in the background is Acorn Alley II.

This is the corner of East Erie and South Water Streets. Previously a small diner was here and a hardware store. Below is what the view will look like when construction is finished. It should start in the next few weeks.

Even with all the demolition of the first block, what's been interesting is the next expansion of the highly successful Acorn Alley has gotten off to a much quicker pace. Demolition of the buildings on that site was in late December and construction started soon after. Despite some delays because of our long and cold winter, the steel superstructure is already up and the retaining walls have been up probably for a month or so already. It is scheduled to be done by this Summer. PARTA's new facility, the Kent Central Gateway, is supposed to be done late next year. Because South DePeyster Street is partially closed, I really don't drive by the site much, so I'm not sure how much actual construction work has started. It doesn't seem like much from a distance. The block that had demolition first will be one of the last to finally have construction commence. The final pieces to the funding puzzle were put together last week when Davey Tree and Ametek signed formal leases to move office personnel to the development that will be bound by South Water, East Erie, South DePeyster, and Haymaker. With the announcement of Davey and Ametek, 8 restaurant tennants were announced. They're all local franchises, so for some people they will be familiar, while for others not from the Akron or Cleveland areas they will be new. For me, most are ones I've heard of or been to once or twice, but not very often because they're not close by. Acorn Alley will be bringing 4 restaurants of its own. Suddenly downtown Kent is becoming less of a bars-only area, not that our bars are that bad (especially Rays Place!!).

Current view from the corner of East Erie and South DePeyster Streets. That old hotel in the background is looking worse every time I see it!

The same view when it's all done!

The center is where the pedestrian alley will come out to the street. The stairs have not been poured yet nor has the steel skeleton been built for the other building on the left! The highly-successful Acorn Alley I can be seen in the background.

Looking east at the new site from the parking lot of the warehouse that still needs to be torn down.

The last remaining house on East Erie right next to the dead end at Haymaker Parkway. I have no idea when it will be demolished. I took some pictures of it so there was some kind of record of its existence!

I'm hoping construction doesn't remove this fire hydrant so I have somewhat of a frame of reference when it's all done. Everything else will change, including the part where I stood to take the picture. The warehouse can be seen in the center (it extends much further back). The hillside will be cleared and largely excavated. I took several pictures of it. Acorn Alley II construction can be seen on the left.

Corner of East Erie and South DePeyster opposite the Acorn Alley construction. Below is the approximate view of the new hotel from the same angle.

Corner of South DePeyster and Haymaker Parkway. Below is the approximate view of the new hotel and conference center from the same angle. The warehouse I mentioned previously can be seen in the background along with the last remaining house and the hill where the PARTA facility will be built.

This is a site plan for everything except Acorn Alley. The large gray building on the top right is the PARTA Kent Central Gateway, immediately south of it is the hotel and conference center, with the Davey/Ametek development immediately west of the hotel. The view posted above of the Davey building is the top left corner (northwest corner) of that block.

While I was downtown today, I also got a picture of some facade improvements at Dominicks bar, which is right next to Ray's Place and across the street from the historic train depot (which we know better today as the Pufferbelly restaurant). A year ago they announced they would be updating their facade to help it fit in better with the other buildings around it. From the looks so far, I really like it. It's certainly an improvement from where it had been. My goodness!

Looking south down Franklin Avenue today. The white areas are the second floor of Dominick's. Below is the picture from the Record-Courier article showing what it used to look like. See what I mean?!?

All the architectural drawings and renderings come from the Kent Ohio Development Facebook page. The renderings from Pizzuti (the company developing the hotel & conference center) are marked, but they also came from the same Facebook page.

Fulfillment!

2011-04-12T23:10:00.001-04:00

April 5, 2011
Record-Courier
Page B3

I was finally able to do something that I've been wanting to do for years and years: sing the national anthem at a Cleveland Indians game. As I blogged last month, I was pretty excited about it all and I've been wanting to do that since I was in probably 6th grade. My chance finally came, and I hope it's not my last one. I was very happy with how the singing went, which is no small task for me. I'm definitely someone who is rather critical of my own singing, but I also know when I have done well. As I was finishing the song, I was practically floating I was so happy, but my upbringing kept my emotions under wraps to a degree. In looking at the pictures, I never burst out in a full smile. Not sure why, but I didn't. I'm not someone that gets overly emotional all that often, but I was near that point when I was about done singing. It was just an intense feeling of happiness; accomplishing something I had always wanted to do along with realizing that I didn't blow the opportunity. It's one thing to be cocky and arrogant; it's another to be confident and know when you totally nailed something like that. There was an interesting echo to deal with too. It didn't affect me staying in tune, but it did keep me from changing the tempo. The echo was probably a good second behind me, so far different than when I have sung in a gym like the MAC Center at Kent State.

The whole experience was a lot of fun. I was glad to have my sister and parents at the game. Not only did we get great (FREE) seats, but also free parking in the garage adjacent to Progressive Field. Normally when we go to games on our own, we have seats much further away (cheaper!) and end up parking several blocks away for at least $5, sometimes more. The only downsides to the evening were the weather and the attendance. The weather was pretty cold (gametime temperature was right around 40), so it made for a "memorable" game. It felt more like when I watch late-season football than baseball. I can't remember the last time I wore my coat, gloves, and winter hat to a baseball game. I remarked the last time I was at Progressive Field I was basically wearing the same thing for Snow Days back in December. Oh well; weather in Northeast Ohio like this is nothing new, though it's been a colder Spring than usual, even for here. The weather, combined with the Indians' not playing so well the past few years and many fans' unhappiness with the owner pushed attendance way low. The attendance for my game was 9,025, the second-smallest crowd in the history of Progressive (formerly Jacobs) Field. The night before was the smallest crowd of around 8,700. I'd always hoped the stadium would be full or mostly full, but it was not meant to be. Maybe next time. When I chose April 5, I figured having the Red Sox in town would bring more fans in, but that didn't really happen. The Red Sox didn't bring as many as usual and neither did we.

Me with Mom and Katie...Mom's first trip to
Progressive Field!

Despite the cold and sparse attendance, we all still had a great time. It definitely made for a memorable night on many levels. Seeing myself and my name on the scoreboard was pretty cool. I noticed in the pictures Dad took that my name was also on the auxiliary ribbon scoreboards around the park. Later that evening I was editing Wikipedia and another editor mentioned he had seen my name on the scoreboard in the background of the Indians' pre-game show on SportsTime Ohio (STO). Awesome! The game was fun too as the Tribe beat the Red Sox 3-1, which keeps a streak alive of my teams winning the game I sing at! I know it's all coincidence, but still pretty cool. I also enjoyed seeing parts of the ballpark I have never seen before like the area underneath the lower deck. I've been going to Indians games at Progressive Field for 16 years and there is so much I haven't experienced yet!

Oh, and the article I have up at the top? It's an interesting read. The Indians sent me a press sheet to fill out, and then they sent something to the Record-Courier about it. I had already emailed the editor that I would be singing and he said they'd have a reporter call, but nothing ever came of it. I can tell from this article they had some of what I wrote to the Indians plus they came here to my blog and got some information and the picture (it's a crop of my picture here on the top right). It's mostly correct, last year's performance at the Aeros game was my first time singing for a professional sporting event. Singing at the Indians game was my first time singing for a major league (and Major League Baseball) event as the Aeros game was minor league baseball. The two times I sang at the KSU-Akron games were 2008 and 2009. I find it interesting that being a graduate of KSU is always mentioned, but not the fact that I am actually from Kent.

On the huge scoreboard just before singing. After 16 years of
Indians games I finally made it onto the scoreboard! What's
funny is later in the game we were all on the scoreboard when they
did random crowd shots!

Singing!

Gives you a good idea how empty it was (made for an interesting echo).
You can see my name on the far right on the ribbon scoreboard!!

Picture the Indians took. They had a photographer who took
several shots while I was singing and I selected this one

Singing on the scoreboard and looking all stretched out!

Conference observations

2011-04-05T01:06:00.003-04:00

Interior of the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
I found this picture online a long time ago, so if you know its source,
please let me know!

These are just some general thoughts I had while watching General Conference this past weekend. They're as random as they can be and it won't surprise me if I add more later. For those of you not familiar with General Conference, it's a series of meetings held every 6 months in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where the various church leaders address the church membership as a whole. It is structured into 5 sessions of 2 hours each (3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday) with the 3rd session on Saturday for the Priesthood (men ages 12 and up). Conference always happens the first weekends of April and October. Since 2000, it has originated from the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City and before that (from 1867-1999) it was held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. For those of us out here, the best part of Conference is that on Sunday, we don't start until noon (10 AM Mountain Time) instead of our normal 9 AM start (well, for our congregation at least). Instead of normal church services, we watch the broadcast. In Utah and areas where there are lots of members, Conference is available over regular TV and radio (except the Priesthood session, which is shown only at church buildings). Out here, anyone who gets the BYU channel (channel 867 on AT&T Uverse!) can watch all but the Priesthood session at home, which is what I do. Many also will watch Conference at the church building in Rootstown even though they can easily watch at home either on TV or on the Internet. For many it's a matter of necessity, but for others who can watch at home (like my sister and grandparents), it's a matter of tradition and getting together with everyone. I'd imagine too some feel there are too many distractions at home. Me, I love being able to watch without having to get into Sunday clothes and being able to have some good food while I watch! :) Anyway, on to my random observations.

As I remarked on Facebook, President Eyring gave the wrong year of the Teton Dam Flood. He said 1966 and it was 1976. I want to give him a pass here, but he was President of Ricks College at the time (Ricks College is now BYU-Idaho) so was living in or near Rexburg, one of the hardest hit towns in the flood. Oh well...maybe he just misread it or remembered wrong?

Not to pick on President Eyring, but I've noticed A) he cries at least once (usually more) in every talk he gives and B) when he starts to get emotional, he always raises his hand about halfway and then moves it to emphasize whatever he is saying, usually an up-and-down motion maybe 2 or 3 times. Not saying it's good or bad, it's just something I noticed consistently (he usually speaks twice over the duration of the conference).

I reeeeeealy enjoy President Uchtdorf's talks. He's become my favorite speaker. Not only are they interesting, but because he grew up in Germany, he has tons of stories that I can better relate to in relation to being in an area where church members are few and far-in between.

Going along with that point, while I definitely enjoy many of the stories from our various speakers, many times it's hard to relate to stories that involve neighborhood-sized wards (the norm in Utah) where everyone around you is also LDS and the temple is a few blocks away.

I've found I'm warming up to Elder Bednar as an Apostle and speaker. I was not excited at all when he got called as I never really cared for him while he was president of BYU-Idaho. He seemed far more concerned with rules and tradition over logic and fairness. When he was called as an apostle, I knew that everything he ever said at BYU-Idaho would somehow get canonized (which it did) simply because he was, as someone said once "an apostle in training" (excuse me while I HURL). Anyway, I have enjoyed his last few talks and yes, he still has PERFECT hair! It's amazing, not a strand out of place!

I was disappointed that no mention was made of the 175th anniversary of the Kirtland Temple dedication (March 27, 1836). Several mentions were made of the 75th anniversary of the Church Welfare program (which is an awesome program, by the way since it not only helps people, but teaches people to help themselves!), but the only mentions of the Kirtland Temple were not in reference to that event. My pessimistic side thinks it's because Church Welfare is headquartered in Utah (so it's right in front of most of the speakers) and the Kirtland Temple is 2,000 miles away in Ohio (and of course not owned by the Church) so no one really thinks about it. That's sad to me seeing that it was a highly significant milestone of development in LDS theology. As a side note to support my pessimism, there was quite a bit of commemoration all over the Church in 1993 for the 100th anniversary of the Salt Lake Temple's dedication.

Easter was mentioned once (well, I only heard it mentioned once). I wonder how much mention Christmas would get if Conference were around Christmas? In terms of Christian doctrine, Easter is THE most significant holiday, yet too often it seems to garner very little mention (certainly not what Christmas gets) in the Church and in Christianity in general. As much as I love Christmas, Easter is a far more important occasion to remember and celebrate in my opinion! For goodness sakes, we're celebrating the triumph over death!

I noticed a LOT of people say "beloved" before mentioning President Monson ("our beloved prophet, President Monson"). That was true with President Hinckley too. While I certainly don't disagree, I'm a firm believer that saying or doing something too much causes it to lose its meaning (like giving everything a standing ovation makes it a lot less special!). I love President Monson too, but I certainly don't know him well enough to say "beloved" like I would for a family member or close friend (though in all honesty, I really don't say beloved much at all...seems kind of archaic). Ya know? Oh well, I just think it's a tad overused, like one person says it and it becomes the "thing to say".

I'm SO glad I can watch Conference at home. Not having to get dressed up and drive 20 minutes to the church is nice. I'm also not too big anymore on actually going to Conference in Salt Lake City. I have been to 3 live sessions in my life. I'm very glad I was able to go, but in the end it was a huge hassle to get downtown and I had some less-than-wonderful experiences when I have gone, at least the last 2 I was at. It's kind of a "been there, done that" thing now, but I do recommend doing it at least once if you ever can. Just seeing the Conference Center is worth it!

I really enjoyed Sister Silvia Allred's talk about service. Too often it seems the sisters give talks that are directed at only the women or children, but hers was all-encompassing and had a great message. AND, because she has a heavy Spanish accent, I really had to pay close attention so I didn't miss anything. It was also nice to hear more faith-promoting stories from outside Utah!

I definitely felt like Elder Holland's talk was directed at me. Every Conference seems to have talks that seem to speak directly at you. I totally got what he was saying, but I still stand by my feelings after President Monson's Priesthood talk. I'll explain a little more on that later in this.

Oh, I saw one of my old directors from BYU-Idaho on TV during the 2nd Saturday session. He was directing the combined choir from BYU-Idaho. Let's just say seeing him didn't exactly bring back a flood of good memories; memories related directly to him and memories of my time at BYU-Idaho period. I think if I had seen my other 2 directors that I had there, more pleasant memories would've been more forthcoming. The choir did sound really good though and was very colorful!

I won't really go into my feelings about President Monson's remarks about single, marriage-aged men here. That is an entire blog in and of itself. He wasn't the only person to bring it up, but his comments bothered me the most. I'll leave it at the fact that I'm not concerned about the doctrine behind his remarks, I'm more concerned about the prejudice in many parts of the Church (particularly in Utah and southern Idaho) about single guys who are in my age group.

One thing I did notice in my discussion on Facebook after Conference was that because I wasn't happy with certain things that were said, some of my friends interpreted that to mean I felt like false doctrine had been spread or that I misunderstood the message. Nope. I simply disagreed with how it was presented and I felt a stereotype was being perpetuated. I also find it interesting that if you ask pretty much any church member if they think the Prophet is infallible, they'll say no. At the same time, if you question something the Prophet or Apostles (heck ANYONE at Conference) said in Conference you get arguments from a lot of members, like you're somehow less faithful. If everything said by the Prophet is straight from God himself, wouldn't that make him infallible? (yes, actually it would) In the end, yes, I believe he's called of God, but being called of God does not remove someone's humanity or ability to think for themselves.

I enjoyed hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing "The Spirit of God", the very same arrangement we sang in our choir last week for the 175th anniversary of the Kirtland Temple dedication. While the MoTab certainly can make any choral piece sound amazing, I definitely thought our choir wasn't too far off of them in terms of quality AND singing it in the Kirtland Temple was WAAAAAY cooler than at Conference. WAY cooler. Just saying. :)

Major League Callup

2011-03-09T22:58:00.002-05:00

In the midst of my sports-related adventures last week for my birthday, I got an unexpected phone call on March 3rd. This was the day after my exhausting (but fun) birthday, and I was home and not subbing that day (normally I don't like not subbing, but that day I needed to sleep!). It turned out to be a good thing I wasn't working, because if I had been, I wouldn't have answered the phone call. Normally I don't answer calls from numbers I am not familiar with, but since this was a 216 number (Cleveland area code), I figured it might be a call from someone involved with This is Kirtland! since many people in that area have 216 numbers. At first I wasn't sure what to think and thought maybe it was some ad or something. Well, imagine my surprise when the caller identified himself as being from the Cleveland Indians! As soon as he said that, I pretty much knew why he was calling.

Well, to make a long story short, I'll be singing the national anthem at the Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox game in Cleveland on April 5th. It's a night game and it's the Tribe's second series of the season, so who knows what the weather will be like. When I got off the phone I was SOOOOO excited. I have been sending recordings to the Indians for YEARS and was always too late and have always wanted to sing the anthem at a Major League event. Geez, I've been wanting to do that since I was in middle school! This year I got recordings sent off in early February (instead of early March last year) and at least for the Indians, it paid off. I also sent recordings to Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York (Mets), and Chicago (Cubs). If I had to choose one, of course I'd choose the Indians since they're my favorite team and are the closest, but I'm a baseball fan (particularly baseball architecture!) and love singing, so I'd be happy and thrilled to sing at any of the places I mentioned too.

Picture I took from a game last year that shows where I'll
be singing from!

I also sent a recording to the Akron Aeros, and just like last year I was contacted the next day (no surprise since our mail has to go to Akron anyway). I was soooo excited to sing for them last year, as it was my first time singing for a professional sporting event and I am excited to sing again this year on April 22nd, which is also Good Friday AND Earth Day. That is a day game (3:00 PM) if you'd like to go! My blog post from that game talked a little about sending recordings out to the Major League teams that I did last year. I ended up sending recordings to the Cavs and Browns last year, but never heard back. This year, in addition to the Indians and Aeros, I haven't formally heard from any of the teams. Baltimore sent me the standard reply (Baltimore was first to reply and that's because everything is done electronically, even the recordings) and I got an e-mail from the New York Mets inviting me to their "Mets Idol" competition at Citi Field. As much as I'd love to, I sent the recording because I can't get to New York right now or even more than once this year. Give me a specific day to sing and I'll be there :). Hoping to hear from the other teams I sent recordings to as well.

Initially, I decided to take the April 26th game against the Royals (I was given 3 choices: April 5th, 7th, or 26th), but I talked to my dad right after that and he had something going on that he was going to get out of, but in looking at the schedule and seeing the Red Sox on the 5th, I figured it would not only probably work better for him (and possibly others) to take the 5th, but there would likely be a bigger crowd at Progressive Field for the game against the Red Sox than the Royals. The 7th is a day game, so I will need to work and friends and family wouldn't be able to come either for the same reason. Anyway, for me, the bigger the crowd, the better! Whenever Kent State asks me which game I want to sing at, I always take the Akron game if it's available because I know it will have the biggest crowd. Thankfully, the Indians were able to accommodate my request since I pretty much did so within 30 minutes of the initial call.

I'm definitely looking forward to this. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we have a large crowd for the game and friends and family can come. I also hope this can serve as a catalyst for more singing opportunities!

Go Kent! 2011 Edition

2011-03-05T23:55:00.002-05:00

This week was my 29th birthday, so I decided to celebrate I'd take a little road trip over to Bowling Green to see Kent State play the Bowling Green Falcons at Anderson Arena. Next season the team will move to a new arena (the Stroh Center) and since I have a little connection to Anderson Arena's namesake, Harold Anderson, I figured I might as well make the trip to see a game there one more time. On top of that, seeing my good friend Michelle made it a fairly easy decision even though I normally wouldn't make a trip like that on a school night knowing I had to sub the next day. Oh well, I was totally tired the next day but it was so worth it!

Right near the end of the game at Anderson Arena

For starters, my connection to Harold Anderson is my Great-Grandpa Wetzel. He and Harold Anderson played basketball together at a YMCA in Akron when they were growing up. Anderson ended up coaching at the University of Toledo from 1934-1942 and then at BGSU from 1942-1963. He was probably the most successful coach at BG, so it's of no surprise they named the arena after him that opened in 1960. I went to a game at Anderson Arena 3 years ago with my sister Katie and ended up seeing Kent State lose in an upset. This year, however, I was able to see KSU pull of a 63-57 win that ended up clinching a share of the overall MAC title for the 2nd year in a row. I had a great time hanging out with Michelle too!

Inside the MAC Center just before the end of the game

I got to see Kent State play again yesterday as they hosted the arch-rival Akron Zips at the MAC Center in the season finale that was broadcast nationally on ESPN2. It was the first Kent-Akron men's basketball game I'd been to at the MAC Center since 2008 (though I attended the KSU vs. Akron MAC Championship game in March 2008 in Cleveland and then sang the national anthem at the 2009 game in Kent). My only disappointment was that the planned "gold out" didn't really happen. Either a lot of people didn't get the memo or they just ignored it. Either way, while there was a lof of yellow in the stands, it wasn't as complete as Akron's "white out" last year at the JAR Arena. I, however, was in my gold gear and so was Katie. The game sold out, so I was a little worried Katie wouldn't be able to get a ticket, but she did and we had a blast together watching Kent State beat the Zips 79-68 after trailing at halftime 31-27. Like I said, beating a rival is always enjoyable, but even more so when something is on the line. Last year was a winner-take-all game where the winner was the overall conference champion and top seed in the tournament. This year it wasn't the case as much as Akron's loss on Tuesday eliminated them from the conference title or #1 seed. For Kent, though, the win clinched the outright regular season title for the second straight year (first time that has happened in the MAC since 1990). Interestingly enough, KSU coach Geno Ford is the first MAC head coach to win two consecutive outright conference titles since none other than Harold Anderson back in 1962 and 1963.

Right at the end of the game...you can see the final score
in the background on the left :)

Katie and I had a great time, even though we didn't exactly have the greatest seats sitting up in the balcony section in one of the corners. It's not like seats in that building are THAT far away, but since I'm used to sitting wherever I want, it seemed much further away than I'm used to! It was nice to see the MAC Center totally full and very loud. I wish it could be like that every game. When I was growing up, the team wasn't that good, so I didn't see a crowd in the balcony sections until I was in high school. Most crowds were around 2,000 or less! I was also happy to see not nearly as many Akron fans there as I have seen in some years past. There have been times it was almost a 60-40 split. Not sure exactly how many, but probably in the neighborhood of an 80-20 split this time. Most of the Akron fans were in the lower deck section for visitors or in the balcony sections right behind that. On our side of the arena there were a few very scattered Akron fans that were quite vocal during the first half, but were much more quiet the second half. Gee, I wonder why? Katie had to take her old KSU shirt apart because the sleeves were too short (I got that shirt for her like 8 years ago). We turned her extra sleeves into what I termed "rally sleeves" that we waved around like rally towels. Those sitting in the lower sections were given white rally towels, so we joined in with them. :)

Celebrate!

Now on to the MAC Tournament. After losing in the quarterfinals last year, I'm definitely nervous for this year. We will most likely have to play Buffalo, a team we really don't match up with all that well. Buffalo killed the Flashes earlier in the season at Buffalo and then only a big comeback helped KSU beat the Bulls in Kent just about 2 weeks ago. As is my normal tradition, if KSU gets to the championship game, I'll make the short trip to Cleveland to see. I won't go to any other round since I don't have that much time and money!

Football history

2011-01-26T01:04:00.003-05:00

I noticed a subtitle on an article about the upcoming Super Bowl that had me shaking my head. It said "Steelers have chance to increase NFL record for championships". While it is no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have won more Super Bowl championships (6) than any other team, I continue to be amazed at how little knowledge people have of the history of pro football, the championship games in particular.

Being from northeast Ohio and being a Browns fan, some people will try to dismiss this as "hating" on the Steelers. While I will never be confused with a Steelers fan and enjoy watching them lose, I'm also not blind: the Steelers have been one of the most successful franchises, particularly recently, while the Browns have been abysmal for the past few decades. No, this isn't "hating" on the Steelers as much as it is making sure people know the full history of pro football, or at least more than the "Super Bowl era".

The first important item to understand is that the National Football league has been around since 1920. The Super Bowl, on the other hand, was only developed in 1967 and was originally known as the "AFL-NFL Championship Game" until the third game, which was renamed the "Super Bowl" numbered at Super Bowl III. Originally it matched the champions of the two major professional football leagues--the National Football League and the American Football League--until 1970 when the two leagues merged into the present NFL that is split between the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL has been crowning champions since it was formed and since the merger, the Super Bowl champion is simply the NFL champion. The former AFL is basically the current AFC with the additions of the Browns, Colts, and Steelers from the pre-1970 NFL. For whatever reason, it seems the media and many casual fans either ignore or place less value on NFL championships won before the Super Bowl. Why I don't know. On Wikipedia, the only NFL or AFL championships not counted as a "title" are the ones won while the two leagues basically functioned as the present-day conferences. So, while the Minnesota Vikings won the NFL championship game in 1970, they lost the Super Bowl. Their NFL championship that year is the same as winning the NFC championship today; same for the Baltimore Colts in 1969.

This comes up quite frequently here being a Browns fan dealing with Steeler fans. Because the Browns have been abysmal since their return in 1999 and the Steelers have won 2 Super Bowls in the same time frame, we definitely have a good number of Steeler fans in this area. Many are actual transplants from western Pennsylvania and the remainder are the "fair-weather" variety that are huge fans when the team is winning but claim no allegiance when the team is losing. Every team has them, of course, but we see quite a few Steelers ones here. Many Steelers fans (fair-weather or "legit") will exclaim the 6 titles to "Cleveland's zero". While the Browns have never won (nor have they ever been to the Super Bowl), they actually don't have "zero" titles. The Browns have 8 total professional football titles: 4 were won in the All-America Football Conference, a pro league that existed for 4 seasons that the Browns completely dominated, while the other 4 were won in the NFL between 1950 and 1964. The AAFC disbanded after the 1949 season and three teams were absorbed into the NFL (Cleveland, the San Francisco 49ers, and a previous version of the Baltimore Colts). The Browns are the only team to ever win an NFL title in their first year of league play (outside of the original teams back in 1920!), winning the NFL Championship in 1950.

The same is true for the Steelers' upcoming Super Bowl opponent, the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay is known as "Title Town", but the Packers have won only 3 Super Bowls. They have 12 total championships, however, winning the NFL title 9 times before the Super Bowl (the Packers won the first two Super Bowls).

So yes, the Steelers own the record for most Super Bowl championships. They do not, however, own the record for the most league championships, which is what the Super Bowl is: a league championship. As far as League Championships go, Green Bay is first with 12 total (9 pre-Super Bowl titles and 3 Super Bowls), Chicago is 2nd with 9 (8 pre-Super Bowl NFL titltes and 1 Super Bowl), then the Browns with 8 (4 AAFC titles and 4 pre-Super Bowl NFL titles), followed by the New York Giants with 7 (4 pre-Super Bowl NFL titles and 3 Super Bowls) and then the Steelers with 6 (6 Super Bowls). There is some debate about the Browns and their AAFC records since the AAFC was not merged with the NFL in the way the AFL was. For instance, many are familiar with the 1972 Miami Dolphins winning the Super Bowl and being undefeated. The Browns were actually the first pro football team to go through a season undefeated and win their league championship game, which happened in 1948. That is not counted by NFL records, however, just as a tidbit of history. Regardless, the AAFC was definitely a professional football league. Was it at the same level as the NFL at the time? Probably not, but the Browns showed when they entered the NFL in 1950 that their dominance of the AAFC wasn't just the result of playing in an interior league. And as a technicality, Cleveland itself (not just the Browns) actually has 9 pro football championships since the Cleveland Rams (now the St. Louis Rams) won the NFL title in 1945 (they moved to Los Angeles in 1946 and then to St. Louis in 1995).

Another quick tidbit that Steeler fans seem to ignore (I'm of the belief they're just ignorant of it) is that prior to 1972, the Steelers were the doormat of the NFL. Founded in 1933, the Steelers didn't make the playoffs until 1947 and didn't win their first playoff game until 1972 (which was their 2nd all-time playoff appearance). The early years of the Browns-Steelers rivalry was incredibly one-sided (much like it is now the other way) as the Steelers were still decades away from prominence. Of course from their 2nd playoff appearance in 1972, they went on to win 4 Super Bowls in 6 years and become the consistent successful franchise we know today.

Snow Days

2011-01-09T21:44:00.000-05:00

I neglected to do a post during break about the absolutely wonderful time I had with my sister Katie, brother Andy, and sister-in-law Heather at Snow Days in Cleveland on December 23rd. If you haven't heard about this, basically the Cleveland Indians turned Progressive Field into a winter wonderland with a huge tubing slide from the bleachers down to the field and then had an ice skating track that circled the entire field. We went on the 23rd as part pf Katie's birthday. I wasn't sure what to expect, but came away happy with the evening and glad we went. Thankfully Andy and Heather brought their Nikon D90, so we were able to get some decent pictures!

Katie with "Ketchup" one of the mascots that races in the "Hot Dog Derby" during Indians games!

Welcome to Snow Days!

Katie and me with Heather at Progressive Field...this is the view from the bleachers (left field)

Andy and me at Snow Days waiting in line for the Batterhorn

The four of us at Snow Days with the "Batterhorn" and maze in the background

Katie and me in front of the scoreboard; we're standing in left field after having gone down the Batterhorn. So yes, I was "out in left field."

Another view of us standing in left field...in the background on the scoreboard, you can watch yourself go down the hill on the Batterhorn!

Andy and Heather in left field with the scoreboard in the background

Katie trying out the snow machine. It makes snow like you find at some of the ski resports...it's much more like a huge snow cone than actual snow (there was still plenty of snow on the ground from our snowfall a few weeks prior)

Katie after going down the Batterhorn. Not only do they have people to help you get into the tube, but when you're done, there's someone right there to take it!

After coming down the Batterhorn...it was a lot of fun...we did it 4 times.

Katie and me trying out the snow machine...it was pretty fun

Awesome action shot

HAHA...at the maze

A sibling shot at the maze

Another sibling shot at the maze

We even got to go in the dugouts...that's where you can go warm up as there are heaters in the ceiling.

Andy at the halfway point of the ice skating track, known as "The Frozen Mile". The rest area was in front of the visitor's bullpen in right field and included the bullpen seating area to warm up in.

Blurry but that's me, Katie, and Heather speedskating! LOL

Heather and me flying past the camera

This is the Batterhorn...full service snow tubing from the bleachers!

More skating...it was a lot of fun AND I didn't fall down!

A sibling moment on The Frozen Mile

Good picture of Andy skating

Katie and me coming down the home stretch...tough luck for that person on the right!

Progressive Field (I still call it Jacobs Field) is one of my favorite places to visit!

Trying to feed the reindeer before security rushed us back onto the track :D

We paid $25 each to do the tubing and the ice skating. You can buy less expensive tickets to do one or the other or even neither (like if you just wanted to bring your kids). It's on the expensive end for a lot of families, but not astronomically expensive, especially if you don't do everything. Even without the ice skating and tubing, there are other small things to play around in, plus I really enjoyed being able to go on the field, even IF it was covered in snow! Included in the price is free parking, which may not sound like much, but since it's downtown Cleveland, free parking isn't so common. Overall, I was very happy with how it all ways, plus we all had a great time!

Kent Community Survey

2010-12-31T20:00:00.002-05:00

I recently had the chance to read the results of the Kent City Schools' survey. During October, the district conducted a survey of the community to gauge their opinions on such things as the performance of the schools, administration, and possible facility changes. The survey was done in two parts: the first part was a 400-person survey done over the phone by Kent State University while the other part was a 342-person written survey that was sent home to parents. One of the days I subbed at Roosevelt I passed out the survey to students in my second period class. The results of the survey can be found here. Although I am technically an employee of the district as a substitute teacher, I am blogging here as a community member and an alumnus of the district as my interest in seeing this district do well is far more rooted in my connection and loyalty to Kent than being a sub.

The first thing that really struck me was the section that had verbatim comments from respondents. Both surveys had the opportunity for open comments, but only the phone survey comments were published. I read all of the comments, which were taken for two questions: "Do you have any suggestions for the district to continue saving money?" and "Finally, do you have any questions or comments that we could convey to the Kent administration and board of education?" Of course there were plenty of the classic "everything's great" and "keep up the good work" comments that inevitably come up. There were some off-the-wall comments too like "how did you get my number?" and "they should reword the questions". There were also some that show the respondent didn't pay attention to the survey, like a comment about freezing wages to save money when it was stated earlier that the district had already done so. This is one of my favorites:
"You have to find a way to communicate with community better. Not everyone reads paper or has a computer, or has kids in the system." This is especially ironic given a comment earlier that one of the ways to save money would be to "Stop sending junk mail- especially calendars." (each fall the district sends out calendar that has school events and the schedule on it along with other important contact info...I find it VERY useful). I'm not really sure how much more the district could do. In the end, they can only do so much to communicate; it's not like they keep the information secret. The part about "not everyone reads paper" I'm hoping is just either a typo or it was spoken wrong. How else can we communicate beyond the web and paper? Does this person want phone calls or a TV show or something?

Most of the comments didn't surprise me. You always have the people that think we should cut everything but science and math, and even one person said the first thing to go should be music and sports. There were a few that advocated more of a pay-to-play fee for sports. While I can understand that stance, I also think that everyone should have an equal chance to play sports or participate in other enrichment activities; not just the ones their family can afford. Pay-to-play puts huge burdens on families and ultimately keeps a lot of people out of those things I feel make school a lot more real to students than just books and facts. What bothered me the most as an educator were the focus just on test scores. I've blogged extensively about the shortcomings of the state proficiency tests and the danger on relying only on their results as a means to compare districts. Another comment I was troubled by was in regards to getting more part-time teachers so the district could save on healthcare and other costs like salary. That's it; make teaching even less desirable and that will improve the schools. Right. Do people really think that will attract and retain the best and brightest? As my aunt Jane, who is also a teacher, pointed out at Thanksgiving, teaching is one of those professions that everyone knows how to do your job better than you but won't actually do what is necessary to actually get a job in the field. If teaching is "so easy" and teachers should be making even less than they do, why aren't all the people saying that lining up to show how easy it is? Why do so many teachers leave the profession after only a short time? Why do many who leave cite better pay in their new job as a reason they left teaching if it pays so well?

The real kicker after reading the many comments (if you have time, the PDF of the phone survey can be found here...comments start on page 13, though the PDF page is one off of the printed page since the cover page is counted as page 1 in the file) was question 21 (printed page 11, PDF page 12): "Do you currently have children enrolled in the Kent Schools?" The answer was 76.9% no. So, 76.9% of the comments were from people who don't have kids in the schools right now. That could range from people who just had their last kid graduate to people who enroll their kids in an alternate private or home school, to people who don't even have kids or had kids graduate many years ago. In other words, I found it ironic that with all these comments about what is wrong with the schools, the vast majority of them are coming from people who have little to no connection with the district right now, yet they claim to know what's wrong and how to fix it. This survey also rated the superintendent with a "B" rating. This was in contrast to the take home survey, which was filled out with over 90% of respondents being parents with kids in the district right now. They gave him him with an "A" rating. I only wish the written comments they had given were published. They seemed to have a more positive view of the district. Why? Being in the schools lets people see past the state test scores, something I mentioned in my blog a few weeks ago.. The real test to evaluating schools is being an active parent and knowing what to look for. Only then do the test scores have much more of a context and meaning.

Some of the things I was happy to see were questions about facilities, which I had heard would be one of the primary issues gauged. In other words, the district is probably considering a bond issue or other increase to fund improvements to facilities and wants to see if it's going to be worth the time and effort of getting it passed. The facility issues involve adding on to Roosevelt, mainly additional classroom space and a second gym; addressing the parking and traffic nightmare that exists every morning and afternoon at Roosevelt; adding on or replacing Franklin Elementary; and adding on to Holden Elementary. If I had to rank these facility projects, I'd probably rank them in the order I just listed. Each one is definitely justified, in my opinion, but obviously now isn't the best time to do a massive building project. What I found interesting were a few comments in the survey that Franklin should be closed rather than replaced or added onto. I think it could work, but I'd rather not see an elementary school closed unless the enrollment is very low; right now, Franklin has between 200 and 300 students, which is right around what the other elementary schools have in Kent (there are 5 total). We also have to look long range. While enrollment may be down, that doesn't mean it will stay down as families grow up, move out, and new ones move in. Kent is definitely an aging population and a lot of households do not have kids anymore (empty nesters), but it won't stay like that forever as people age and move on.

One thing that gets missed, in my opinion, is the age of most of the facilities. As buildings get older, they cost more to maintain. Outside of Stanton Middle School, which opened in 1999, every other building is near 50 years or older with some having more recent additions. The vast majority of Kent's schools were built in the late 1960s or before (during the period of Kent's largest growth), with a few having additions in the 1970s. Roosevelt has a small addition from 1997, but the vast majority of the building was built in various phases between 1958 and 1977. Franklin dates back to the 1920s and has an addition that was added in the 1960s as far as I know. Holden opened in 1965 and has largely been untouched since then beyond basic maintenance.

Roosevelt definitely needs an additional gym. I have always been perplexed why we only have one gym when most comparable high schools (those of similar enrollments) usually have a main gym and an auxiliary gym. Even the new Ravenna High School, as I blogged about earlier this year, has two gyms, one that is used mainly for competitions and the other that is used for physical education classes. As I said in my blog there, I have long wanted Roosevelt to have something similar to what Ravenna ended up building in their high school, which is a small field house. The current gym has served us well and is in pretty good shape, but people need to remember it was built as part of the original 1958 building. Since then, the school's enrollment has gone from 550 students in 1959 to around 1,400 today and the building has had numerous additions. The gym does not even fit the entire student body. I would love to see a field house type addition with a large space that could be subdivided into multiple courts, as well as a multi-purpose room. Right now, the auditorium lobby functions as our "multi-purpose room" despite the fact that it is freezing this time of year and is part of the hallway. We also have quite a bit of teachers who move from room to room each period because we do not have enough classrooms. I'm all for efficient use of space, but having a few extra rooms would still allow for maximum use while giving teachers a place to "set up shop" as opposed to constantly pushing a cart around the school.

The other issue, the traffic problems at Roosevelt and Stanton, also needs to be addressed. Maybe it's because I'm at Roosevelt so much now, but the traffic has always been bad. The reason it gets bad is because of the orientation of the parking lots and roads. Basically, you have two parking lots and three roads all coming together at one point. It's further exacerbated by it being the primary route students take to walk to and from the parking lot and it's where people drop their kids off. So, you have tons of traffic funneled into one area mixing with hundreds of pedestrians. In the afternoon, all of the buses head over to Stanton together, so it's like a train cutting through it all and bringing everything to a standstill. Sometimes we have additional buses that are picking up students from other high schools who take vocational classes here as part of the Six District Education Compact. The main dropoff point doesn't have a turnoff, so it blocks a lane of the road that handles the traffic. Yes, it is an absolute nightmare every day. Like the gym, it is a relic of the original 1958 building when there were far less students and even less cars. Honestly, how many students had their own cars in 1959? I have my own ideas about how to solve it (move the student parking lot to the north side of Roosevelt Drive adjacent to the building and add a second entrance from Mantua Street), but it definitely can't stay the way it is.

The main reasoning behind additions at Franklin and Holden has to do with mandated all-day kindergarten. Neither building has much room to add an additional classroom or two to accommodate that and Holden has had a modular building next to it for years. Replacing Franklin is more to do with its age and the fact that the building is fairly inaccessible to anyone with physical disabilities (if you've never been inside, it has a bizarre layout too). Since it would likely need an addition and renovations, if replacing it is close to the same cost, in the long run it may be a less expensive option.

Davey Days

2010-11-30T01:54:00.007-05:00

Back at the end of September I had the chance to sub at Davey Elementary School for two days (September 30-October 1) for the gym teacher. Subbing in gym is always fun mostly because it involves just having the kids play a game the entire time, plus, I get to wear "gym clothes" (i.e. t-shirt and warm-up pants) to school instead of khakis and a shirt and tie. Anyway, subbing at Davey is always fun and interesting because of the history I have with that building and the history of the building itself.

Front of Davey after a snowstorm in February 2010. The original part
of the building is very symmetrical

I attended what was then Davey Middle School from 1993-1996 in grades 6-8. At the end of my junior year in 1999, Davey was closed and renovated for a year after Stanton Middle School was done. In 2000 it reopened as Davey Elementary, replacing Central Elementary, which was turned into an annex of the high school. The Davey building has quite a history itself. The original part of the building opened in 1922 as Roosevelt High School. During the late 1930s/early 1940s, an annex was built behind the building to house industrial education. It would be the high school until 1959, when it was rededicated as Davey Junior High School after the current high school on North Mantua Street opened. In the late 1960s, a 2-story addition was added to the school, which included a new cafeteria and extra gym. Davey Junior High was initially for grades 7-9 until the late 1970s when ninth-graders were moved back to Roosevelt. During the mid 1980s the first 6th graders were brought to Davey, first all of the sixth grades, and finally just part of them. From about 1986 until 1999, 6th graders from 2 of Kent's 5 elementary schools went to Davey while the rest stayed at their elementary schools. I went to Walls Elementary, which was one of the two who sent 6th graders to Davey. It was an unusual setup that existed only because Davey was simply not quite big enough for all the 6th graders. The setup ended only after the larger Stanton Middle School opened in 1999. In 1993, the whole team-teaching concept was introduced and Davey was officially rededicated as Davey Middle School, even though it had been a 6-8 school for several years by then. What was funny was they made a big deal about it (it was even on TV) and took the words "Junior High" off the building, telling us it would be replaced with "Middle". Well, that never happened. To this day, it still says "Davey School" with Davey and School very far apart.

December 2006 picture showing the 1966 addition and the words on the front

The renovations to convert the building to use as an elementary school were pretty extensive. Some of the older parts of the building were restored to be close to what they would've looked like in the 1920s, though many parts were simply ignored or modernized. Of course all the junior high school lockers had to be removed, smaller chairs and desks brought in, and many rooms were completely gutted and/or partitioned. Virtually all of the doors were replaced and the entire building was renumbered (so I can't use any of the room numbers I remember!). The wing where the upper gym, girls locker room, and industrial arts rooms had been was completely stripped and converted into a preschool wing. It's easy to see where the gym used to be on the outside of the building, but you'd never guess inside where it used to be. The double doors that used to be the gym's entrance to the hallway are now the entrance to the hallway connecting each of the preschool rooms. It's weird being in the school because it's the same building I went to, but it's different at the same time; like a shell of its former self.

Subbing in the gym was fun for the history side of me as the gym has seen quite a few changes. One of the cool things about Davey is how fairly easy it is to see the many changes that have been made over the years to the building. There are numerous bricked-over windows and doorways, some very obvious, others not so obvious. The gym, which I and many others knew as the "lower gym", is part of the original 1922 building and has had several changes to it. I brought my camera the 2nd day I was there and took some pictures during my lunch hour. It was pretty fun exploring the hidden rooms of old Davey and noticing certain things I had long suspected about the building's past or never realized! If you went to Davey, you will definitely be able to relate to these pictures.

The former boys locker room, now just used for storage.

The boys locker room actually has two parts, this part being the "lower" locker room that is under the auditorium. It's like frozen in time with the floors clean, the showers empty, and the lights and restrooms still functioning.

Just past the doorway seen in the back of the first picture. This room was used for storage when I was in school and I believe held equipment. It was obviously used by the teams too. Most of these signatures came from the period just before it ceased being used as a middle school, the 1990s.

Just beyond that room is another long room that was also used for storage and today is obviously just not used at all. I long suspected there had been a staircase in this part of the building and this confirmed it. See the remains of the staircase on the right side? It was the bottom leg of the staircase on stage left of the auditorium.

Another view of the former staircase with one stair still remaining in a much different color than the stairs that still exist above it.

Looking the opposite direction from the former staircase, I discovered that this was also an alternate entrance to the gym. The shelf straight ahead is in what used to be a doorway. The former doorway is visible behind the bleachers in the gym.

Another thing that surprised me in that same hallway were these bricked up windows. Davey is built on the side of a hill, but apparently, the side against the hill was exposed, at least enough to have windows in the basement level. If you went through these walls today you'd be underneath the 1966 addition.

Inside the gym. The windows on the right had long been bricked up when I was in school but were uncovered as part of the 1999-2000 renovations. Other bricked up windows can be seen below them. Behind the basketball hoop is a wall covering up what used to be a balcony that apparently ringed the gym on three sides at one point. The former balcony was later covered up and leveled and is used as storage today. When I was in school it was the "green room" for the adjacent stage.

Rarely-used staircase seen in the far right corner of the previous picture. A bricked-up window can be seen as well as where the upper staircase (which led to the upper level of the balcony) was blocked off and covered. To the left of this picture is the "new" entrance to the former balcony.

Inside the former balcony, which I knew as the "green room" since it connects with the stage. Originally it had tiered levels, the evidence which can be seen along the walls (not in this picture...it's covered by the shelves) and below it.

Given the symmetry of the building, I often wondered why the gym didn't seem to follow that. Turns out it mostly did but was later changed. This bricked up door is right next to the current door that goes to a staircase that leads up to the cafeteria. If the bricked up door were reopened, it would lead to an area underneath the cafeteria. At the other end of this wall, there is another bricked up door.

View of the bleachers. The former door mentioned a few pictures earlier that led to the now-removed staircase (it has a shelf in the doorway now) can be seen here. Above the doorway the areas of the wall with plaster as opposed to brick are where the balcony and its supports once were. I do not know when this part of the balcony was removed, but these markings are on this wall behind the bleachers and the other end zone, something I never noticed.

Outside the gym where several bricked-up windows can be seen. Along the bottom of the walls, you can even see where the ground originally was. The doorway and window on the far left of the picture are part of the 1966 addition. As far as I know, the newer-looking bricks on the far right of the picture were a small addition to the locker rooms at the same time. At the top of the building, some of the bricks have been replaced as part of the 1999-2000 renovations.

Another view of the gym. The four glass-block windows are in what used to be the balcony. The smaller bricked-up windows in the middle are all part of the rooms that were originally built as dressing rooms for the stage but are now simply blocked off. The larger bricked-up windows on the right were the windows for the stage right staircase to those dressing rooms.

More bricked-up windows on the back of the school, looking to the right of the previous picture. The windows on the far right are part of an emergency exit staircase. The bricked-up windows that alternate in the center of the picture are for the restrooms (right side) and a staircase (left side). A bricked-up window from the auditorium can be seen just to the left of center next to one of 2 windows that were re-opened as part of the 1999-2000 renovations.

Inside the hallway, the outside of which can be seen on the left side of the previous picture, that connects stage right to one of the main staircases. My mom said she had a locker here when she went to the school in the late 1960s. This is largely what it looked like when I was in school; a storage area. Inside this hallway I discovered that the bricked-over area for the large auditorium windows seen in the previous picture actually extends even lower (different color bricks seen on left), which leads me to believe that this hallway was added later, or was at least covered later.

Behind the school is the former football and track stadium. Although the high school moved to a new building in 1959, the current stadium wasn't built until 1970, so this was home to Rough Rider athletics for several decades and was known as Bowers Field. It is still used for lacrosse practice and some youth football. When I was at Davey, the old bleachers were still standing on the far side of the field and we'd often sit in them when we'd go outside after lunch. They were removed in 2006.

Supports for the former grandstands that I mentioned above which were removed in 2006.

View of the back of Davey as seen from the field. There were also stands on the grassy hill according to my mom, who played in marching band at this stadium until her senior year.

Doorway to the "office" of the gym (which connects to the former boys locker room) where you can see the old floor underneath the current floor. I also discovered that this doorway was added later. Just to the right of it is a bricked-over doorway I had never noticed.

Sibling Reunion

2010-11-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

I had a great chance last week to spend some time with all three of my siblings. Even though I see them all pretty regularly and we're always in touch, it's actually fairly rare that we're all in the same room together. I usually see one or two at a time. With one sister visiting from Utah, I decided it would be a great opportunity to take a road trip down to Nashville so she could visit my brother and sister-in-law. My other sister is in Kent, so we were able to work it out so she could come too. The last time we were all together was just after Christmas last year and this was the only opportunity for us to all be together in 2010 as the schedules for Thanksgiving and Christmas visits won't overlap for my brother and youngest sister. Lately, it's become a one-a-year thing, though I will see each sibling individually multiple times a year usually either visiting them or them visiting Kent.

Being together definitely gave me reason to think about what I admire and like most about each one. It was so much fun just talking about everything. We have shared so many experiences together, so our overall perspectives are very similar, though by no means the same. Even with our differences we are pretty unified as a group and I love how we all communicate amongst ourselves when situations arise. We have definitely put the wonders of technology to use in keeping in touch, from blogs, to cell phones, to Facebook, and e-mail.

My brother Andy is the oldest of the four. He lives down in Nashville and does consulting from home. I have lost track of how many times I have visited him and my sister-in-law in the past 2 years in Maryland (4 visits in Nashville already!) but I do know that I always enjoy visiting, even though both of them are usually very busy, so I don't get to see a lot of them. Even so, we always manage to find fun stuff to do. My brother is someone who is not afraid to tell you what he thinks and what you can do to improve (that's part of his job). Where I'm much more willing to just give people the benefit of the doubt (I'm pretty laid back), he will let someone know when he is unhappy with their service or product. He's also good at finding good deals and researching products to get not just the cheapest, but the best. I've always said that if I ever became famous and needed an agent, I'd hire my brother!

I have two younger sisters, one of whom lives in Kent and the other who lives in Utah. My "Kent sister" Katie and I are closest in age. Although each of us are about 2 years apart (we graduated high school in two-year intervals), my sister and I are actually just over 21 months apart. First, I have always loved the red hair of my sister; I honestly think it's beautiful and hope I have a red-haired daughter! More importantly, my sister has an amazing mind, particularly in making movies. When she was doing her undergrad work, I would sometimes help her with her film projects and I would always be impressed not only with her editing skills, but also her ability to have the whole idea in her head and know what to do to get it out. Like me, she's struggled to find steady work in her field, but once she is able to get a foot in the door, she will just take off. If I ever had the influence to get someone to direct a movie, I'd totally push for my sister!

This looks like the cover for a movie or something!

My other sister Becky lives in Utah, though I'm happy she is hopeful to return to Ohio in the near future. It isn't bad having a place to stay when I visit Utah though :). What's special about her is that we have the same birthday, 4 years apart. Growing up it wasn't so fun sharing a birthday, but now as adults it's pretty darn cool. Becky is also a great writer. Some of her work from middle school is still being used by teachers she had as great examples of how to write. In 7th grade she took 3rd in the state in a writing competition known as Power of the Pen, a feat that still has not been equaled by a student at Stanton Middle School in Kent. I hope one day she's able to have a or other opportunity that she can really use those writing skills on a regular basis. If I ever needed a biography written, I'd totally get Becky to write it or at least proof it! I can always count on her to notify me of errors on my blog posts too. :)

I think I have pretty cool siblings. I'm glad and feel blessed they're my siblings and that we are able to stay in touch despite being spread out right now. I hope we can maintain that even as we settle down and have families of our own.

Trick-or-Treat on Sunday?

2010-11-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

Inevitably, at least here, the whole topic of whether or not it's appropriate to trick-or-treat on Sunday comes up, but especially in years like this where Halloween actually fell on Sunday. Like other Christians, Latter-day Saints consider Sunday the Sabbath day and typically avoid doing anything that is considered recreation or work. That's not to say Latter-day Saints don't do anything on Sunday, but most will try to get Sundays off from work and avoid doing things like going out to dinner, shopping, playing sports, going to sporting events, going to the park, etc. Generally, Latter-day Saints look at Sunday as a "day of rest" where we shouldn't be working, but also shouldn't be doing things that make others work (hence not going shopping, going out to dinner, etc.). We're also very aware of the scripture that Jesus Christ himself spoke that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath," (Mark 2:27) meaning that the Sabbath day is for our benefit.

I could do an entire post about the Sabbath, but the purpose of my post here is whether or not trick-or-treating is appropriate on Sunday. From a purely anecdotal sampling, I'd say most Latter-day Saints consider trick-or-treating inappropriate on Sunday. Why? I'm guessing they likely place it into the category of recreation. Growing up, my mom definitely considered trick-or-treating an inappropriate activity on Sunday, but now doesn't feel that way at all. In Kent, trick-or-treating is almost always done the Sunday afternoon before Halloween, though sometimes it is on Saturday. This year pretty much all local communities had trick-or-treating on Sunday afternoon (since Halloween was on Sunday this year) with a few having it Saturday evening.

In all honesty, I don't have a problem with trick-or-treating on Sunday. That said, if people don't feel like it's appropriate for Sunday, it is their right to not have their children participate or go to a nearby community that has trick-or-treating on another day. My problem comes when Latter-day Saints who feel it is inappropriate act like everyone feels that way or that there has been some sort of official church pronouncement that trick-or-treating violates the Sabbath and thus they are more righteous for either going somewhere else or refraining completely. Remember, the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. While there are some very black-and-white instances that are definitely nor appropriate for the Sabbath, there are many that are very much open to personal interpretation. And in the end, since the Sabbath is for us, we are ultimately responsible for how we choose to honor it.

One thing we are encouraged to do on the Sabbath is spend time with our families. If you take your kids trick-or-treating on Sunday, how is that not spending time with them or not as good as spending time at home? Is it inappropriate because there is walking or dressing up? What about people who walk to church (which happens a lot in Utah!!)? And how is dressing up not appropriate for the Sabbath? Basically, I'm not seeing how trick-or-treating is a blatant violation of the Sabbath when you really look at what you're doing. You're certainly not "working" and while I think most Latter-day Saints probably consider it "unnecessary recreation" it could just as easily be considered quality family time. There is no prohibition of fun in the Sabbath either.

In closing, this is another case of that the world isn't in black and white, but it also isn't in shade of gray; it's in living color. The more light we have, the more obvious the colors come and the easier it is to discern the different shades of color. It is also a case of critically analyzing our beliefs and reasons and not just "going along with what everyone else is doing" but actually evaluating why YOU are doing or believe certain things. There's a reason we were all given our own brain and agency to use them; it isn't to create a bunch of mindless drones!

Putting President Packer's Remarks in Context

2010-10-31T00:30:00.000-04:00

Much has been said in reference to remarks made by President Boyd K. Packer's at the recent General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For those unfamiliar with General Conference, it is a semi-annual meeting that takes place in Salt Lake City every October and April. It is broadcast to the entire church membership and takes the place of traditional Sunday worship services the weekend it is held. It is divided into 4 general sessions, 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, each of which lasts for 2 hours. There is an additional session Saturday night for the Priesthood (which is made up of all men ages 12 and up). A women's meeting is held the week prior and is also broadcast to the entire church membership. During conference, leaders of the church (which includes general church leadership and those in the auxiliaries like Primary, Young Men, and Young Women) give prepared talks on a wide variety of gospel-related topics. President Packer's talk was entitled "Cleansing the Inner Vessel" and focused mainly on the concept of God's love and the importance of repentance. I hope that anyone who found his remarks upsetting reads the entire talk instead of the few soundbytes or quotes that have been used in the media. That's the first step in establishing proper perspective. Too often quotes by themselves appear far worse than they were intended. Context within the talk itself should not be underestimated.

Before starting, my point in writing this isn't to convince anyone that President Packer is right or wrong or that Latter-day Saint doctrine is right or wrong. My purpose is to provide proper context of Mormon beliefs (as best as I personally understand them) so that even in disagreement, at least people can have a fuller understanding of why he would say such a thing. That said, the quote that has caused the most controversy is this:

"We teach a standard of moral conduct that will protect us from Satan’s many substitutes or counterfeits for marriage. We must understand that any persuasion to enter into any relationship that is not in harmony with the principles of the gospel must be wrong. From the Book of Mormon we learn that “wickedness never was happiness. Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Remember, God is our Heavenly Father."

In reading this purely from the vantage point of the average, non-LDS reader, I can totally understand why some people would be upset by it. I was, admittedly, not paying as close of attention to this talk when it was given enough for this statement to really stick out. But seeing the controversy a few days later and then reading it, knowing what I do about our doctrine and culture, nothing he said surprised me. There are a few key concepts of LDS doctrine and understanding that need to be made clear for this to make any sense.

The first point to understand is that "Mormonism" is more than just a religion. In reality it is much more of a culture that is practiced by its members 24/7. I think since so many Latter-day Saints are American and the church was founded in the US, people just equate it with American culture. There are, of course, many similarities, but many differences as well. Would we be as upset about comments or beliefs if they came from a different culture like, say, the Far East? I wonder. I think it's easy to be more accepting of other cultures when we don't have to deal with another culture on a regular basis. The more we deal with it, the more we see the positives and negatives (at least from our perspective) that every culture has. Most times when we are exposed to other cultures, it is in fleeting moments or with a few people and even then it's usually something positive (a dance, a custom, artwork, etc.). It's a different story when people we know very well are part of that culture and we have an idea how they view and react to things. I've noticed with my own extended family (most of whom are not Latter-day Saints), are all about being inclusive and celebrating diversity--except when it comes to Mormon stuff. They don't regard it as a culture because they simply see us as part of the same culture as them (which in most ways we are) and we just have "weird" beliefs rather than a different cultural perspective. See how easy it is to blur the line?

In addition to recognizing Mormonism as a culture (and a culture that has sub-cultures within it such as "Utah Mormonism" that I have blogged about), we must also understand some key LDS doctrinal points for Packer's remarks to be in proper perspective. First, Latter-day Saints believe that everyone that is alive, that has lived, and that will live are literal children of God. As such, we believe we have the potential to be like him. But along with that potential comes many elements that make us quite different from God that must be overcome. The best scripture verse that explains this is in the Book of Mormon in the book of Mosiah, chapter 3 verse 19:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Basically, the "natural man" is a human being with all our flaws. Everyone is born with certain tendencies, shortcomings, and challenges. While some are easier to overcome than others, we all have some sort of challenges that we inevitably have to overcome sometime in or even throughout life. This is known as self-mastery. Mormons aren't the only ones who teach and believe in the concept of self-mastery; it's a powerful concept that many people follow and is useful in setting goals, bettering ourselves, and overcoming challenges, regardless of what they are. Many Eastern cultures practice self-mastery as well as many other people; basically, you are in charge of what you are.

In thinking about this post, for whatever reasons I thought about the movie X-Men:3 where they find a "cure" to the mutations and the reaction it gets from the "mutant" community both for and against (by the way, not saying gays are mutants, just using a parallel!!!). I wonder what would happen if there were some shot that could make someone "straight" with a shot or pill. Who would take it? Who would consider it a complete insult? I have heard of similar debates amongst the deaf and dwarf communities where operations are available that can "correct" those disabilities. Just a random thought...

I think it's important to note that President Packer did not explicitly mention homosexuality in his talk, though his comments about marriage preceding that do imply that's what he means, though again, the Church has promoted protecting the "traditional" definition of marriage (one man, one woman), not simply anti-gay marriage. To Latter-day Saints, homosexuality is definitely included in what he meant by "any relationship that is not in harmony with the principles of the gospel" but it is not the only such relationship he is talking about. Indeed, "straight" sexual relationships outside the bounds of marriage (whether before, during, or after marriage) are under that umbrella as well as those relationships that society as a whole consider wrong (sexual relations with children or close relatives, for instance). Basically it boils down to standards. Mormons believe that God has established very specific behavioral standards that he asks us to follow. These are known as commandments and they include sexual and social behavior. We are free, of course, to choose whether or not to follow these commandments, but like pretty much everything in life, there are always consequences for disobeying commandments (and also for following them). Some of these consequences may not be apparent immediately or even that soon down the road. Also, as has been pointed out by many other commentators, it's not "being gay" that gets people in trouble in the LDS Church; it's acting on those actions that gets people in trouble, the same trouble as "straight" people doing much the same with anyone they're not married to. In other words, it's not just gay people that are told they shouldn't have sexual relations; it's anyone not married (which includes me!). Again, it goes back to standards and who they came from.

From there, another key point is that Latter-day Saints believe that God does not give us challenges and obstacles that we cannot overcome. In addition to the famous verse in Matthew 19:26: "...but with God all things are possible," in 1 Nephi 3:7 we read: the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." In other words, since Mormons believe God has commanded certain behaviors as acceptable and not, then there must be a way to overcome the feelings and tendencies that lead to those that are "wrong" (which leads back to self mastery). Now, while Mormons believe that anything can be overcome to put yourself in harmony with the commandments of God, that doesn't mean we have or even claim to have easy answers as to how many challenges and obstacles can be overcome. Indeed, most obstacles (not just those involving sexual behavior) are not easily overcome. Many times, the answer lies in desire, prayer, fasting, humility, and patience.

Unfortunately, what's happened is that too many Latter-day Saints have used those standards and beliefs as a weapon to judge and even condemn other people. Going back to the main idea of Packer's remarks, it was the loving and forgiving nature of God, not the condemnation. And no, Mormons do not believe that gays will burn in hell. We have a far different view of "hell" than the traditional Christian view. To Latter-day Saints, life is not a pass/fail course; it's fully graded with all the proper curves, extra credit, and exceptions! Everyone will be rewarded for the good and bad they do, not an automatic "go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200" card or "get out of jail free" card. :)

Putting it all together, again, I'm not here to say "we're right" or that Packer was correct, but more to show why he said what he said and why most Latter-day Saints didn't really think twice about it (nothing new!). I obviously believe what he said is true, not only in relation to Mormon beliefs, but in what I believe personally as well. In the end, we are the masters of our minds and bodies and we will be accountable for our actions based on the knowledge we have. So, summarizing:

Mormonism is very much a culture that has its own understandings and perspectives. Respecting us doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with us though!
Mormons believe that all people are children of God and can be like him, but that takes a lot of effort, desire, and work.
Mormons believe all people have challenges and obstacles to overcome, but they can be overcome.
Mormons believe that all obstacles can eventually be overcome with the help of God and that he does not give us something that we cannot deal with. This is known as self-mastery and is a concept not unique to Mormonism.
Homosexuality is not specifically "targeted" by Later-day Saints, nor was it specifically targeted by President Packer. It is one of many behaviors that Latter-day Saints consider in opposition to the standards set by God.

Changes in Kent

2010-09-26T13:00:00.004-04:00

The changes are abounding in Kent right now. The new Fairchild Avenue bridge is still under construction and I've gotten used to the crazy detours I have to take every day just to go south. At the intersection of Fairchild and North Mantua, a new Sheetz station is also under construction. It's supposed to be done later this year, though, it will be tough if it's finished before Fairchild is set to reopen sometime in January. I can say even with the mess of construction it's already looking better than it has been for the last several years. Outside the McKay-Bricker Framing building, everything else was run-down and looked terrible. I was not sad to see any of it go besides the McKay building, which I was very sad to see torn down.

There are some other smaller changes going on along Haymaker Parkway (State Route 59, aka "the bypass"). All of the street lights are being replaced as is the protective fencing on the main bridge. The fencing was removed earlier this week and I think it looks pretty good without the fencing, though the bridge itself is pretty bland (a typical boring highway bridge). The new fencing will be black so won't be as obvious.

The biggest changes downtown are just beginning. On Friday, the first building was torn down in the area that is set to be developed. If any of you remember the buidling with the yellow zig-zag front roof that was a liquor store and also home of Spellbinders, it was the first to go. I went downtown today and took some pictures before any of the other buildings are torn down, and let me just say: I really won't miss ANY of the buildings getting torn down. That entire block is in horrible shape (including the roads), so I welcome the demolition of the rest of the buildings. The only building that is in any kind of decent shape is the old Kent Hardware building. I suppose if they saved any building it would be that one, but the cost of adding on and renovating it would outweigh simply tearing it down and starting fresh. Here are the pictures of downtown now and some of what will replace them in the next 24 months or so. Downtown is going to be very different in a short time, and hopefully MUCH better. I'm really excited to see this all happen!

South Water Street with the rubble of the old Spellbinders building visible.

This is the expected view from Water Street of the new development. The image comes from Dave Ruller's blog post "Kent Downtown Redevelopment Update..." on September 13th.

Old Record-Courier office that has been closed since the end of 2008. I doubt this building has changed much at all since the 1950s. At this point, the new conference center will be built here, though recently the plans seemed to shift to combine the hotel and conference center into one building here. If that ends up being the case, there will soon be an 8-story building here!

Looking east down East Erie Street, where the new Kent Central Gateway will be built (see below)

The intersection of East Erie and South DePeyster streets. This will be developed into a 3 and 4-story complex with offices, retail, and residential space and the road will be completely rebuilt.

This is the planned view of the new development from Erie Street. Looks a lot better, huh? This also comes from Dave Ruller's blog

Looking north up South DePeyster Street. The new hotel was originally supposed to be on the left side, but as I said above, it's looking like it will be on the opposite side of the street. All the buildings in this picture except the looming old hotel building at the top of the hill will be torn down for two separate developments.

The back of Acorn Alley, which opened last year. After the development behind this picture gets going, the developer of Acorn Alley will begin extending it down to Erie Street and building additional 3-story buildings along Erie. Note the old hotel looming above. As much as I'd love to see it redeveloped, it's become Kent's albatross. It's so big and obvious that it will put a literal and figurative shadow over all the new development as long as it's there.

Drawing of the Acorn Alley extension from Dave Ruller's blog.

House on East Erie Street I barely even noticed before! It's between the former "The Barn" bar (which had a variety of names over the years) and the old Kent Hardware

Dead end of East Erie Street where it meets Haymaker Parkway. The new Kent Central Gateway will be built in the empty lot and the road will be connected to Haymaker.

This is the view once the new Kent Central Gateway is built from pretty much the same location as the previous picture. Not sure I like that thing in the foreground, though. ????? This comes from PARTA's website for the project, Kent Central Gateway.

Definitely a lot of changes already underway with more to come. We still haven't heard about the new municipal court building planned by the county, plus there's always the hope the old hotel will finally get redeveloped or torn down and the potential for additional development as a result of all of this.

For more info also see:

Arts Academies

2010-09-25T22:34:00.001-04:00

Recently, the neighboring Field Local School District started an arts academy for grades 3-6. Being in the arts, on top of the news, and knowing a number of people in Field Schools, I had heard of the plans for some time. After some difficulty and controversy, the new Falcon Arts Academy was established earlier this year and officially started classes this past August. It is housed at the former Central Elementary School, which previously had housed the district's kindergarten classes. Central is located adjacent to Field High School and Field Middle School right on the border of Brimfield and Suffield townships (so it is appropriately named!). From what I was able to gather, this academy basically uses an arts-intensive approach to education. What that means is that while students have more arts classes, the standard classes they do have (such as science, social studies, and math) have the arts integrated into how they're taught. The examples I heard were things like using stained glass to learn geometric elements or writing songs to help learn science concepts. Hearing about it definitely got me thinking about the whole concept, though initially I was hopeful for a potential job opening. That turned out to be for naught as Field simply shifted their current teachers to the new school.

Anyway, I think most people assume that because I'm an arts person that I would naturally be a supporter of something like this. To be totally honest, I've never been sold on arts academies or any kind of specialty school that segregates one interest from another. My main experience with a separate arts academy was the same school Field used as a model: the Miller-South School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Akron. I was a part of the Summit Choral Society's Junior Chorale program for a few years in the early 1990s and our rehearsals and many concerts were at Miller-South, which was converted to a 4-8 arts school from the old South High School. I didn't know much about the school itself, but the kids I knew who went there largely had an arrogance about them. It wasn't major, but it was there. That's my first major problem with a separate school like that. I think the unintended consequences are that you end up with some students who think of themselves as better than they are, but you also take away some of the most motivated and creative students and isolate them. Another unintended consequence is the potential for a district to use an arts school as an excuse to reduce arts programs in other district schools. While I've never actually seen that used as a reason, knowing how many non-arts people think, having an arts school and strong arts programs at the district's other schools would seem redundant and people would basically think if students want to be in the arts, they should go to the arts school. Of course, an arts school can only handle so many students, so in the end, kids would be denied participation in arts programs or at least in the best arts programs simply due to numbers.

Before I go on, let me be very clear: this is not criticism exclusively of the Falcon Arts Academy. No, this is my arguments against any kind of setup where students of one interest are taken out of their school and placed in a completely separate building, effectively segregating them. Having an academy within a school, I think, is much better way to not only allow students to explore their interests on a higher level, but also allow those students to still be well-rounded while still giving other students the opportunity to take advantage of those programs but maybe on a lower level. When I first found out about the Falcon Arts Academy, I started thinking about another specialty school I have experience with: the Maplewood Career Center. Maplewood is a joint vocational school in Ravenna that serves students at 9 of Portage County's 11 high schools (excluding Kent Roosevelt and Aurora) as well as Mogadore in Summit County. Students at Maplewood are all juniors and seniors who are enrolled in one of the schools several vocational programs. Prior to coming to Maplewood, those students take care of most of their state-required classes needed to graduate. Half of the day at Maplewood is spent in lab while the other half is spent in required courses such as English, Social Studies, and Math. Students are still considered part of their home high schools and many participate in athletics, but for any other courses such as band, choir, art, or any other kind of elective, there is no chance as no such classes are offered at Maplewood.

Now, again, this should not be considered a criticism of Maplewood itself. I have been very impressed by the faculty at Maplewood and enjoy being able to sub there; the format of having a completely separate vocational school is what I'm talking about. Subbing in Kent, I have been able to see the other option: having vocational programs integrated into the school itself.

Roosevelt has somewhat of a hybrid system. While there are some vocational programs students can take that will put them at another building for much, if not all, of the day, most of them are either available at the school itself or only require a few periods at another school. Roosevelt is part of a compact with 5 other school districts that basically pools the vocational resources of each school and makes them available to students at the other compact members. What this allows is for students to pursue a vocational tract, but as their schedule allows, they can still be part of things like choir, band, art, and other electives that may interest them plus their required classes are with fellow classmates as opposed to just vocational students like at Maplewood (though some program-specific classes like that are offered at Roosevelt). It also keeps them as part of the school environment for much of the day rather than segregating them from their classmates all day, every day.

The more I think about it, the more I like the integrated approach over the separate building approach. It lets arts students really explore their interest in the arts, but also can allow others to explore it without having to change schools; basically an all-or-nothing approach. Indeed, even with the more arts-based approaches they are taking in the non-arts classes like science and social studies, if the methods are valid and work, they should be integrated into standard curriculum, not just restricted to "arts" students. Students learn at different speeds and in different ways. Not only should teachers be using a variety of approaches in presenting curriculum, but they should also be giving students a lot more options for projects and assignments to promote and develop creativity. The same is true in any specialty area like math, science, vocational, etc. The more these kinds of academies can be integrated into traditional schools, the more options it gives students not only in how much they learn but how fast. But, on the flip side, I think having an arts academy is a step in the right direction; however, I'd much rather see many of its ideals better integrated into the regular curriculum to be most effective and reach as many students as possible.

Separating Doctrine From Culture

2010-09-15T01:05:00.001-04:00

The whole issue I blogged about back in November about being a "Utard" seems to come up every once and awhile. Basically, the problem boils down to people being unable to separate being a "Utahan" from being a "Utard" and assume that those of us who don't live in Utah have some sort of general dislike for "Utah Mormons". Is there a prejudice outside of Utah towards church members from Utah? Absolutely, though it varies greatly by location and the individual and is not always negative. Some people automatically assume the worst when they find out someone is from Utah; others assume the best. I like to get to know someone before I come to any conclusions about what kind of person they are, though I do admit, I have the whole "Utard" worry in my head when I first find out. Why? I've had far more negative experiences than positive with the whole cultural divide that separates Utah (and in reality many western U.S.) Mormons from the rest of us. That's not to say I've had all negative experiences. I still count many friends who are Utah natives and/or still live in Utah, plus my best (and worst) mission companions were all from Utah. But to simply stand by and assume that all the negative and testimony-damaging experiences I endured, and the many negative experiences I've heard from others, are simply coincidences or isolated cases would be to ignore the problem and allow it to continue. What I've come to believe is that it's a widespread enough problem that a negative prejudice has developed outside of Utah, though it is by no means universal to all Utah Latter-day Saints.

As I stated originally and have restated many times, this is nothing personal against the state of Utah. As a state, Utah really isn't much different to me than any other state. There are things I love about the state (the mountains, for one!) and there are things I don't like about the state (like the desert climate and the horrible drivers on I-15). I can say the same about every state in the U.S. I've been to (42 and counting), including Ohio. No, this is speaking out against certain prevalent cultural elements that exist primarily in Utah, simply because Utah has the unique situation of having the single-largest group and highest concentration of members of the church; cultural elements that I find contradict church doctrine yet are constantly (and improperly) mingled with it as if they are one in the same. Basically, if the church were most prevalent in, say, Illinois or Wyoming or Florida I'd be saying the same thing about those states. And yes, parts of Idaho (like Rexburg) also have these same cultural elements. Because the elements are so much associated with doctrines of the church, they not only give Latter-day Saints a bad name overall in many cases, but even amongst each other it creates problems where the line between cultural traditions and doctrines is blurred. The elements that have created this culture are mostly those from the 1840s that were common in the United States when the Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Once they got to the valley and began spreading out, they were largely isolated, so while the rest of the country moved on with certain cultural "norms" the previous ones were able to take deep root and eventually creep in the same level as doctrine amongst the Saints. For instance, the charge that the church is very "clannish" actually comes from the early development of the church in the 1820s-1840s. Just take one read of Joseph Smith History and his descriptions of the various Protestant sects. The various sects were very divided against each other and did not intermingle, something that for the most part is not true today. Of course too, the early church did often have to go it alone because of persecution, which also contributed to that "stick with your own" mentality to the point where visitors tend to be ignored. This is not something that generally happens in other areas of the church, but has happened to me and I've heard many others talk about experiencing this in Utah.

As for the term Utard, again, people need to understand this isn't a term for anyone from Utah, at least the way I use it. That is Utahan. Utard is not a term I came up with, but I thought it was a clever play on words and it seemed to fit what I felt it was describing when I first heard it on my mission. In doing a Google search for the term, I've discovered it has several meanings; some related to the church, some not. I guess for die-hard Utah lovers, it's unfortunate that their state name is so easily turned into a derogatory term, but to think that Utah is the only state people make fun of is ridiculous and ignores reality. It's just that other state names aren't as easily combined with another word! The only one I could think of off the top of my head was "Floridiot" and honestly, I've never heard it used!

So, we definitely shouldn't just come to a rushed judgment about someone just because they're from Utah, and Utahans shouldn't make quick judgments about people from the "mission field" (a term which I feel is TOTALLY misused out west). Whether good or bad, that's a form of prejudice and it prevents us from really getting to know someone, not just here but in any instance of prejudice. We're all on the same team here working for a common good, but we also must not stick our heads in the sand and pretend there's not a major cultural problem where large amounts of members exist because there certainly is a problem.

Additional blog

2010-09-09T15:56:00.001-04:00

I've decided to start a second blog that's private as a place to express more personal thoughts. Since I'm still looking for a job, it's probably not a good idea to truly express what I think about certain things since that could be used against me, plus there are things that I don't want everyone or even just certain people to know. I've already noticed a fair amount of traffic that comes to this blog by virtue of people searching on Google or another search engine for my name. I hate to think I've been prevented from getting a job because I have opinions and I express them. Never the less, I will keep this blog for sure and I'll keep it public. It will still remain my primary blog, but just won't have some of deepest thoughts that I'd like to share, just not with the entire world. If you'd like to be included in the new blog, post your e-mail in the comments here. Since I have to approve all comments, I can get your e-mail and then not post the comment. At this point the blog is called "Live From Kent...Unleashed" and is at http://jonridinger2.blogspot.com. You'll also note I secured the domain name "jonridinger.com" for this blog. Both the new address and the old blogspot address will get you here.

Ravenna High Review

2010-08-31T00:01:00.002-04:00

Front of the new Ravenna High School on August 14th

On Saturday Mom and I had a chance to attend the open house of the new Ravenna High School. Two weeks prior (August 14) we attended the open house of the old Ravenna High School along Clinton Street, a building I had only been in a part of. I enjoyed seeing it, particularly the old section, which opened in 1923, one year after the Davey building in Kent (which was the first home of Roosevelt High School). It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two buildings in terms of layout and style. One thing I can say for sure, the historical account that the old Ravenna High School had a "1,000 seat auditorium" was a gross exaggeration by the Ravenna Republican in 1923. Mom and I counted 399 seats in there and it wasn't like there were large sections with seats missing. While it may have held more with a tighter seating configuration (the seats were obviously not original; I'd love to see a picture inside it when new), the space would only allow for a few dozen more seats, maybe 100 more with effort. It certainly wasn't 1,000 or even 500. Despite that, it's a figure that keeps getting repeated over and over in articles about the school opening.

Old Ravenna High School, which dates to 1923,
back in September 2009

Well, out with the old! The new building is pretty nice, as it should be for something that cost $29 million and was several years in the making. I'm not someone who is easily impressed, though, so I can't say it totally blew me away with ingenuity or design. The outside tries to evoke a more classic look with some arched windows, an older roofline, and even a few decorations (little concrete "R"s along the outer walls). I can go for that, though even as much as I like windows, I thought the main entrance by the cafeteria was a bit too much glass. I definitely did like seeing lots of windows in the building, though disappointed those windows only had small openings. I also liked seeing the use of skylights, though they weren't direct skylights. If you stood under and looked up you can see light but not the sky as the opening is not perpendicular with the viewer. It allows for some natural light, which is definitely a plus, but I'd prefer to be able to look up and see sky!

The layout works. Basically all the classes that use atypical spaces like music, theater, physical education, and the cafeteria are all located on one end of the building. The other side of the building is divided into three hallways separated by two long courtyards and then the library is on the far end of that, kind of like a keystone. Stanton Middle School in Kent has a similar layout in terms of having the typical classrooms on one side and the "specials" on the other. Ravenna High School reminded me of a claw when I first saw the layout. It's also all on one floor; the only actual staircase in the entire building is outside the field house gym. It goes up to an elevated track that I will address later.

There were definitely elements that made it clear the state had a role in its design. For one, the school is designed to hold 850 students, which is right about what the school's enrollment is. The state never designs a school that is bigger than it needs to be or plans for growth, so it has JUST enough room; it fits like a glove. Stanton Middle School, on the other hand, which has about 800 students itself, is actually designed to hold 1,200. Guess how much role the state had in designing that school. Yep. None. That said, it still seemed to fit what Ravenna needed and had a few extras thrown in. The deal to build this involved the district passing a bond issue and then the state paid about 50% ($13.6 million) of the costs and the bond issue the rest. The bond issue also covered the "extras" the state won't cover: an extra gym and an actual auditorium. When I was student teaching at Southeast Middle School, I got to see firsthand what a state-funded school looks like. It wasn't bad at all, but the "audteria" was an absolute joke and the gym was pretty small. Stanton has an auditeria which I've detested since it was built, but it was WAAAAY better than the sorry excuse for a performance area Southeast had. It was totally non-funtional for anything like concerts or drama. Even assemblies weren't that suitable as only one grade could fit at a time.

Now to the elements I really went looking for. I definitely wanted to see the new auditorium. I also wanted to see the "field house" gym and the main gym, plus I made sure to see the music rooms. As someone who enjoys architecture (if I hadn't been a music major I would've been an architecture major) I always enjoy seeing new buildings and different styles.

The field house was the element I thought was best in the school. Not only does it have the elevated walking track, but it has enough space to have two full basketball courts (which are marked). The floor is a rubberized surface, so it bounces a little when you walk on it. I also liked the use of windows, though was a tad disappointed they are translucent. I'm not a big fan of translucent windows unless they're needed (like a bathroom). Why not make them clear so people can see outside? Anyway, overall I really liked it. I have long wished Kent would get something similar (though larger) at the high school, so I enjoyed being able to see an example of one. The last one of these I saw was at Avon Lake High School and it was under construction. I thought it was an excellent idea!

Interior view of the "field house gym". On the left are entrances to locker rooms and a physical education classroom.

The auditorium was a disappointment to me. Sure, it's WAAAAAY better than the ancient Greek stage they had at the old building, but there are things that I was scratching my head as to why they weren't included. The first thing that surprised me was the seating capacity. All along they've been saying it will seat 900. Technically, it does seat about 900, but that's only after expandable seating is added. Most of the time it will seat about 600. The expandable seating is a section of retractable chairs in the back that slides back into the cafeteria when being used. This is a problem mostly for sound as it will open the back up and not provide a back wall or close ceiling for sound to bounce off, plus when it isn't open, there's a huge curtain covering the extra seats which will absorb sound. The other thing that surprised me was the lack of a fly system on stage. Everything is suspended permanently from the ceiling. That greatly limits the theatrical capabilities of the stage (we were pretty upset when Stanton was built and it didn't have a fly system after having one at Davey). The stage is a good size, but lacks that fly system and I wasn't too thrilled with the flooring (seemed like laminated black particle board, which I saw used at Davey after it was renovated). All in all, a huge improvement on what they had, but this thing still can't hold a candle to Roosevelt's auditorium.

Not the best picture. Oh how I wish I had my brother's D90 here! You can kind of see the curtains in the back that hide the retractable seating. The line of light near the top of the picture is the gap between the ceiling and the removable wall separating the auditorium and cafeteria that is removed when the extra seating is used.

This is a picture from page A9 of the August 29 Record-Courier. You can see the back section open here. The pitched roof visible above the back section is actually the outer wall and ceiling of the cafeteria, several feet behind the the back wall of the auditorium

The gym was nice, but nothing that blew me away. I definitely liked the large windows on two sides, but like the field house, was disappointed they were translucent. The new gym, again, is WAY better than what they had, though, so it will be nice for them. The coolest feature I had never seen before was a retractable volleyball net. Instead of having it set up with poles in the floor, it is suspended in the ceiling and folds up, much like extra basketball hoops. The gym also has plenty of room to get around and made extra space for the teams to sit in apart from the bleachers. It will definitely not be as tight as the old one!

I'm assuming this will be the "home" side of the bleachers. In the top center you can kind of make out the suspended volleyball net with the ref's stand visible (round thing).

Other side of the gym where the teams and likely the visitors will sit. The teams will sit in front of the railings which makes it easier to get around than at the "old school" type gyms where players sit on the first row of bleachers. The only problem I see is the railings might be a bit too high for people sitting in the front row...

The choir room was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I know Ravenna is a smaller school than Roosevelt, but not THAT much smaller. It must've been half the size or less than what we have here and the only risers in the room were the ones that are used for concerts (that you stand on). Maybe it was in "display mode" but it didn't look like a good setup and certainly limited how many people can be in choir. The band room looked like a good size. The setup of the music rooms reminded me a lot of how they are at Stanton with practice rooms in between the band and choir rooms. The cafeteria also struck me as smaller than I thought it would be. Like many things, it's WAY better than at the old high school (I was literally stunned how small the cafeteria was at the old building), but I guess I expected it to be a little bigger. Oh well, maybe I have a false idea of how big it needs to be? :)

Definitely not a horrible setup, but this seemed a bit small for me, especially hearing that Ravenna has some large choirs. I do prefer risers that have places for everyone to sit.

Another view of the choir room from behind the risers. Apparently the piano has not arrived yet!

It's definitely a building that the people of Ravenna can be proud of in the end. It is very bright and modern and has plenty of technology available to enhance the learning experience. It's a huge step up from the old building, even with all the memories attached to that place. I hope Ravenna students take pride in their building and keep it nice!

Chihuly at Cheekwood

2010-08-30T10:00:00.009-04:00

In front of a Chihuly sculpure at Cheekwood
Botanical Gardens in Nashville, Tennessee.

I'm finally catching up on some of my blog posts! This past week Mom and I had a chance for one more trip before school starts, so we visited my brother and sister in law in Nashville, Tennessee for a week, getting back to Kent this past Thursday (August 26). Really we didn't do a whole lot. Mostly we hung out at the house, but that was OK by me! Usually when I go visit friends or family, I'm not there to be entertained, so it doesn't bother me at all to just hang out, though that's not to say we never went out. I was able to see a few friends and get out when I wanted to. Mom and I also watched all 3 of the Lord of the Rings movies on my brother's snazzy huge LED TV. :) One thing we were able to see was the display of Dale Chilhuly glass works at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. For those in northeast Ohio, Cheekwood is very similar to Stan Hywett Hall in Akron; a large estate that is now used for educational purposes with gardens and other programming. Chihuly is a leading glass artist who has had work shown all over the country. His style is pretty recognizable (I remember a large sculpture of his in the lobby of Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City) but still interesting. Cheekwood put many of his works outside in various locations in the different gardens, plus they had a few in their gallery in the actual Cheekwood mansion, which now functions as an art museum. We both enjoyed seeing everything and the weather wasn't too bad at all!

The car waiting to be towed with a trail of
brake fluid behind it

We actually went the day before, but just as we were coming in, I was driving and the car went over a speed hump too fast and the bottom of the car got scraped. It ended up ripping a brake line and we pretty much lost braking instantly. It wasn't like I was flying over the speed hump (like 15mph maybe) but enough the bottom got scraped on the speed hump when it went over. Because of rust, it ruptured the line. From what the tow truck driver and repair shop guys said it sounded like the rust played a major role and likely wouldn't have mattered if it had just gotten scraped without the rust. The rust on the bottom is a common problem for cars from the North where we are subject to salt during the winter. Of course, that was the ONE day I forgot my cell phone, so I had to use a phone in the visitors' center later at the repair shop. Well, thankfully we have AAA and my brother was able to come get us. All in all, it cost about $300 to get fixed (not too bad!) and it just delayed us one day. We extended our stay in Nashville an extra day and went the next day.
One of the BEST parts about the visit to Cheekwood was that my brother let me borrow their camera. It's a Nikon D90, so it takes WAAAY better pictures than my camera. I really enjoyed being able to use it and was happy how well the pictures came out. The big negative is that I want one of my own even more now!!

Mom waiting for the tow truck to come...

Me not happy and waiting for the tow truck
(See Mom in the tree?)

View of a sculpture from the parking lot while we waited for the tow truck to come

Car getting dropped off at the repair shop. Yeah for AAA!

Sculpture I photographed the day before
from the parking lot.

Example of some of the glass sculptures (red things) in amongst the plants

Next to the sculpture seen in the background of the picture at the top of the page

I love waterfalls!

This was in the pond in above the waterfall. I called it "boat full of rockets"

Did I mention I love stonework too?

Set of sculptures near the mansion

Sculpture called "The Sun" with the mansion in the background

Good schools

2010-08-29T16:36:00.003-04:00

As promised in my last post, here is what I think are the best ways for individuals to find a good school or make sure the one they or their children are in is a good school. Too often people are relying on the various rankings to decide a school when those rankings tell only a small part of the story as I alluded to in my last post as well as a post a few months ago when my high school was named as a "best school" in a high-profile national report. Another key element to understand is that even if a school is "awesome" by every measure, it still may not be the best school for you or your child depending on what is available at other schools or unique features that may be perfect for you or your child. I'm going to list the criteria I think are most important. Some of these I got from my graduate classes where we discussed what makes a good school and watched a video of things to look for.

The first thing to look for is the teacher. Either from your own interactions or the interactions your child has with them, ask questions. Too often, students and parents alike cite "being nice" as a reason a teacher is good. While being "nice" is definitely a great attribute, it is meaningless if the teacher doesn't have a good grasp on the subject and is teaching a bunch of fluff or making things too easy. There is a fine line between making something learnable and making something easy. On the flip side, just because a teacher has an advanced degree does not mean he or she is a good teacher. I think everyone has had a teacher or professor who is incredibly knowledgeable and smart in their field but can't for the life of them bring their vast knowledge to the level of those of us who know far less. This is why the state showing us what percentage of teachers in a school or district have a masters degree or above can only go so far. Having that degree is no guarantee that the teacher is a good teacher or that he/she has created a safe environment in the classroom. Look at the work the teacher gives: is it challenging and worthwhile or just busywork? Good teachers give students work to help them grow and learn; work has a direct purpose. When tests are given, find out what is being tested. Are students being challenged to think (higher level) or to just regurgitate memorized answers (lower level)? There is a huge difference between memorizing and critical thinking. A good teacher will also help students who don't do well on tests and recognize that a student doing poorly on a test (especially if a lot of students do poorly) is just as much a reflection on their teaching as it is their student's comprehension levels. Bad teachers use tests as weapons; they punish students with them and solely blame the student for his/her failure on the test (even if an entire class does badly on a test). Next, do students have opportunities to develop and express their own creativity? A good teacher understands that developing creativity is a must and will give students options to achieve that; it does not mean students do "whatever they want" but instead are given choices within certain bounds. Does the teacher do what they can to facilitate and encourage outside learning or are they "teaching to the test"? A good teacher inspires while a bad teacher bores or even instills fear. Another great thing for parents to do is contact the teacher, which can usually be done with e-mail. A good teacher will be THRILLED that you are taking interest in your child's education and will want to know what he/she can do more to help.

The next thing to look for is the environment. Part of that comes from the way the teacher interacts with students, which I already covered. Students should feel safe not only with the teacher, but also with other students. A good teacher is going to do all he/she can to create a safe environment, which includes confronting and eliminating bullying and other like elements. He/she will also treat students with respect so they are comfortable talking to the teacher. A bad teacher will either make a student fear them or even the opposite extreme just be their friend as opposed to being their teacher and guide. Along with that, look at the facilities. Be careful not to fall into the trap that good facilities (particularly new facilities) = good school. Facilities, and the technology they may or may not have, are tools. If used properly, they can greatly enhance the learning experience. But like any tool they can be misused or even ignored. On top of that, if a building has all the bells and whistles, but lacks good teachers and/or a good environment, it doesn't really matter much does it? That said, facilities that are in very poor shape can be telling too. And I'm talking about dangerously out of date, run down, etc., not simply older or well-worn. Facilities that are in horrible shape can often be an outward sign of a community that does not care about its schools. My advice is to look at them yourself. Don't be quick to judge a book by its cover, though. Plenty of schools have fully functional facilities that are not flashy and new; they don't "wow" you per se, but they easily get the job done. And there are plenty of great learning environments and teachers that do not involve heavy use of technology.

The last main element to look for is curriculum. What educational options and opportunities are available to students at the school? A good school will recognize the diversity of learning and offer many different levels of classes and have tools and options to help students learn in many ways and at many speeds. This includes technology, but also specialists and class options for students who may be "slower" or "gifted" as well as outside opportunities through agreements and programs. In other words, the school doesn't have a one-size-fits-all curriculum. This is especially critical at the middle school and high school levels where many more class offerings can be offered and students are more free to build their own schedule and truly prepare for life in the "real world". At a high school, a course catalog is usually available for students or upon request from the community and many have them online already. Look at not only what courses are available, but their descriptions too. Simply having a lot of classes doesn't mean they are worth your or your child's time at all. This is where a school may not do well on standardized "rankings" but still be a great school specifically for you or your child, especially if there is a special need involved. And I personally think there is nothing wrong with asking to meet with teachers and administrators or contacting them through phone or e-mail to ask them curriculum-specific questions or any questions for that matter. If they are interested in having a good school, they will be happy to answer your question(s) and will greatly value your involvement. But be careful; like anything, there is a difference between being an involved and supportive parent and being a controlling and over-bearing parent.

Hopefully this can be helpful for people, especially parents. With all the confusion and, in my opinion, misleading information that exists about schools and how good or bad they are, it's important that we educate ourselves and don't simply rely on an outsider's view of the school or assume it's definitive. Outside views and rankings can be great supplemental materials, but there is no ranking or evaluation system I am aware of that gives a true measure of how good a school is. They all measure certain aspects of a school or district, which is why some schools do very well on certain evaluations but not on others. It's all dependent on what is being measured and how.

Report card nonsense

2010-08-29T00:29:00.002-04:00

The Ohio Department of Education released their annual report cards for every public school district and individual school in the state. Every year I find myself thinking less and less of these report cards as I see not only how they "rate" schools and their districts, but how certain people react. Basically, the state will come out and say a school or district was given a designation. The main overall ratings are Excellent, Effective, Continous Improvement, Academic Watch, and Academic Emergency, which the media commonly references with letter grades (Excellent = A, Effective = B, etc.). In elementary schools there is an additional criteria, which, if met, results in the school and/or district being rated Excellent With Distinction (which the state and media equate with an A+).

I've always been bothered because most people look at the overall rating and make their judgments about a school or district based on that rating alone. They don't bother to look at the reasoning behind the overall rating or what caused it. So in one way it can create a false sense of security for schools or districts that are rated Excellent or Effective. Such was the case in Ravenna last year. The district was rated "Excellent" by the state despite meeting only 15 of the 26 "indicators" the state uses. In the other case it can create this false sense of alarm that a school is getting worse or in bad shape because of a particular rating or if a rating goes down from year to year. I saw this a few years ago when Kent was lowered from "Excellent" to "Effective" and I read comments from parents online who were concerned the schools were getting worse and wondering if they should take their kids somewhere else.

For those who are wondering, the state uses 3 basic criteria to come to their overall rating and then have what they refer to as a "value added assessment" which is used for grades 4-8 and adds the "with distinction" to an Excellent rating. The first criteria is a series of "indicators" that are based mostly on standardized test scores as well as daily attendance and graduation rate (obviously the graduation rate only applies to high school). A school "meets" these indicators by achieving the state designated average or above. The total number of indicators for a district is 26 (24 are test related) while a 9-12 high school will have 12 indicators. The more indicators met, the better. To be "Excellent" a school/district must have met at least 94% of the indicators (11 for high school, 24 for a district).

The next criteria is what is known as the "Performance Index". The Performance Index is a weighted average that measures what percentages of students who passed the state test in different levels of understanding (from "untested" to "advanced") based on how well they scored. The more students who pass as "advanced" and "accelerated", the better. Untested students and those who score at "limited" or "basic" understanding hurt the average. This basically tells us how well students are doing on the test as opposed to that they are simply passing or not. The highest Performance Index score is 120. To achieve "Excellent" a school must have a PI score of 100.

The last main criteria is "Adequate Yearly Progress" or AYP. This is a Federally mandated criteria that to me is virtually unattainable in its long-term hopes. Basically, in terms of the whole student body and amongst various sub-groups of students (minorities, gender groups, students with disabilities, etc.), there must be certain improvements in test scores. The theory is that by 2015, 100% of all students will be proficient in reading and math. Unfortunately, 100% is unattainable in the real world because it not only requires every student to take it seriously, but it also assumes that a student not passing a proficiency test is purely the fault of a teacher, school, or district. What's scary is that if a school or district doesn't make AYP for 5 consecutive years, changes as extensive as replacing the entire administration and teaching staff or turning the school into a charter school are options. Mind you, a school will "not meet" AYP if any sub group doesn't make it in a given year, even if every other group makes this alleged "adequate" progress. How scary is that? A school can be doing everything right but because of an arbitrary number the entire school could be completely restructured. And seriously, I have a hard time believing that every school can be making such progress every year. Eventually you're going to hit a peak. To be "Excellent" a school or district must meet AYP in all areas or not have it for 3 or more consecutive years. Even if the other criteria are met with "Excellent" status, not meeting AYP in any area (remember, not meeing AYP with any group means the school/district didn't meet AYP at all) for 3 consecutive years means a school can be rated no higher than "Continuous Improvement", the 3rd or 4th highest rank (equivalent of a "C" grade). See how that can send the wrong message to someone who just looks at the final rating?

I'm all for accountability. I really am. But as an educator, I'm also aware that a student's successes and failures are not completely the result of the school he is attending or the teachers he has. There are many outside variables that the state doesn't take in account at all or doesn't weigh as heavily as I think they should. There are also many elements to what makes a good school and those are not all currently measured or even evaluated by the state. At the same time, there needs to be some sort effective way to evaluate teachers and schools for the benefit of students and parents as there are too many bad teachers out there. Unfortunately, though, the current system looks at only part of the picture and largely awards or punishes schools and districts for many things they do not have control over. My next blog will go over ways that individuals can assess whether they or their children are in a good school with a good teacher.

Church history extravaganza!

2010-08-21T00:56:00.001-04:00

Geez it's been almost a month...I better blog about this already! My mom and I were able to take a little road trip to Nauvoo, Illinois and Council Bluffs, Iowa at the end of July, mostly to see the dramatic productions at each location. Nauvoo does an outdoor production, which is creatively named the "Nauvoo Pageant". It tells the story of the Church while it was headquartered in Nauvoo, which it was from 1839-1846. In Council Bluffs is a production called "Come Home to Kanesville", a story of the early Saints who lived in Kanesville (present-day Council Bluffs), a stopover on the Mormon Trail to the Salt Lake Valley. Across the river from Kanesville in present-day Florence (a northern suburb of Omaha) was another Mormon settlement known as Winter Quarters. Anyway, history lesson aside, we were able to visit some friends at each location, plus get a another dose of Church History. On top of our trip to New York in May, This is Kirtland! from May-July, coming out to Nauvoo and Kanesville, and my visit to Utah in April, I've been to pretty much every major Church History site except for the ones in Missouri. The only other one I missed is one I have never been to: the Priesthood Restoration sites in northwest Pennsylvania. Our trip took us first to Carthage, Illinois, site of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in 1844.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail with the Jail in the background

Front of Carthage Jail

Mom getting a picture in front of the jail

Mom in the martyrdom room...it was a HOT day that day!

A view of the martyrdom room where Joseph and Hyrum were killed. John Taylor and Willard Richards were also present when the mob came in. Joseph fell out the window on the left.

Next we went down the road to Nauvoo, the city where the Saints lived from 1839-1846. They transformed it from a dismal swamp to a charming little city that rivaled Chicago for size in the 1840s (which was then less than 20,000 people). Today Nauvoo is a very small town of about 1,100 people but is still a beautiful place right on a bend of the Mississippi River.

Sunstone from the original Nauvoo Temple, which was completed in 1846. It was eventually destroyed first by an arsonist's fire in 1848 and later by a tornado in the 1850s. Another Sunstone is at the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, DC (right as you walk in on the left). This one is in a glass case right outside the LDS Visitors' Center.

Christus statue in the LDS Visitors' Center

Nauvoo Temple on the hill overlooking the old town. The temple was rebuilt to look exactly as the original on the outside (new sunstones visible at top of each column).

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum across the street from the Nauvoo Temple. It is in reference to them leaving to go to Carthage and looking back at Nauvoo one more time. You can see the Mississippi River in the background.

In front of the Nauvoo Temple from the Joseph and Hyrum statue and the little plaza around it

In front of the Joseph and Hyrum statue and the plaza

Mom near the Joseph and Hyrum statue plaza across from the temple

Nauvoo Temple. Such a cool temple!!

View of the Joseph and Hyrum statue plaza with the Mississippi River in the background

Nauvoo Temple. When we used to visit Nauvoo in the 1990s I always hoped it would get rebuilt (it used to just be an open area with the original foundation visible). I never thought I'd get to see it so soon!

Monument at the end of Parley Street at the official beginning of the Mormon Trail along the Mississippi River.

At Carthage Jail...it was hotter than Hades!

Getting my pictures of Carthage Jail and trying not to melt

In front of the Nauvoo Temple...this picture was quite painful...my eyes could barely stay open!

Checking my pictures at the Nauvoo Temple

TINA!!! One of my best friends from the mission. Hard to believe it's been 7 years since I served in her branch in Alamogordo, New Mexico. She and her family are now in North Dakota and this was the first time I'd seen her or her daughter Melissa (who is camera shy!) since I visited them in England in 2007.

Classic Tina

LOVE IT

This pretty much sums it up

Waiting for the Nauvoo Pageant to start

Our last part of the trip was to Council Bluffs, Iowa to see a performance of Come Home to Kanesville, an original musical production about the early Mormon settlers in Council Bluffs (originally known as Kanesville) who settled there temporarily while heading west from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley. We went because our friend Gretchen Brockett Edwards was the costume designer (and a cast member with her family). She grew up in our home ward, so it was nice to see her again and meet the rest of her family. She's also been trying to get me to defect from This is Kirtland!

Meeting with Gretchen Brockett Edwards and her husband after "Come Home to Kanesville" at the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

True colors

2010-08-17T03:24:00.001-04:00

I have changed the settings for comments to allow only registered users to comment. In other words I don't allow anonymous comments anymore. As wonderful as the Internet is and has given so many people a chance to express themselves who wouldn't have had a chance otherwise, it has also allowed people to post their thoughts and opinions anonymously so we get to see their true colors and integrity. Just read comments on any blog or news article online and you'll see all sorts of slander, bigotry, and prejudice in all forms and from all sides (left and right). It's possible those people would say things like that directly to people, but chances are they wouldn't say something like that straight to someone's face or even in a comment that has their name attached to it (like a letter to the editor).

I had previously changed my comment settings a little while back requiring all comments to be read and approved by me before being posted. That happened after someone, most likely from Wikipedia, kept making comments I really didn't want on my blog and my brother suggested I moderate comments. Since making that change, it has all but stopped. This latest change was prompted by a comment I just read (and deleted) in regards to my previous post about Prop 8. As has been the case all too often when this issue comes up, this comment was very angry and upset and full of prejudice and bigotry. For someone with such a strong opinion, however, it was only fitting that the person left the comment anonymously. As I said in my blog, I am not opposed to changing the laws so that gays and any couple can live as they choose. What I oppose is the changing of the definition of marriage itself and the whole idea behind the movement to change it knowing it has nothing to do with "equal rights" and everything to do with advancing a particular agenda and crushing (not working with) those who disagree. Finding common ground and compromise are not part of the plans, hence "civil unions" (which are legally the same as a marriage) not being good enough. It also continues to cement my belief that too many liberals think that those who disagree with them are just stupid as opposed to having had different experiences or seeing things in a different way. For all their talk of diversity and accepting differences, apparently religious and conservative differences aren't included.

So, to my anonymous commenter, please keep your hate and prejudice off of my blog (and bad comparisons too). Thanks. I'm always open for civil discussion and enjoy getting response to what I write, but leaving angry--and especially anonymous--comments is not the way to get there. People can disagree without resorting to name calling and stereotypes. If your hope was to change my mind (or anyone else's) attacking me (and stating some incredibly false things about me, who I am, and what I think) isn't a good way to start changing minds. In fact, it only strengthens my belief that this whole "struggle" isn't for equal rights and living together in harmony but forcing an agenda and belief system down the throats of everyone. In that way, how are you any different from the very Evangelical Christians you criticize and detest?

Prop 8 Saga

2010-08-10T22:58:00.000-04:00

I had originally intended to write about this sooner, but am glad I waited as I have really wanted to think about this and write a calm, logical post about it. There is so much to think about here I didn't want to miss anything. I honestly wasn't surprised by the ruling that Prop 8 was unconstitutional, at least in the eyes of the judge who reviewed it, though I wasn't really paying that close of attention to the story as it was initially developing. I knew it was happening, but many of the events surrounding the judge, particularly his attempt to sensationalize the trial (and his rebuke by the U.S. Supreme Court), I was not aware of until recently. The more I hear about this judge, the less the ruling surprises me. While I initially thought there would be no way this could get to the U.S. Supreme Court (since marriage is a state issue), the judge in this case cited the U.S. Constitution's 14th amendment stating that Prop 8 denied gay and lesbian couples "equal protection" under law and the case itself was tried in federal district court. Basically, this is now a federal case, so it is likely the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case eventually and the decision they render would have effect on all 50 states, not just California.

I've been pretty clear about my feelings on "gay marriage" in general. I personally think there is a way for gay and lesbian couples to have the "rights" they claim they are being denied without redefining marriage and in many cases they are already available to them and others as well. Opponents say that marriage has always been redefined, and while that is true to a degree, marriage has always been between people of the opposite gender. Never before has marriage been defined as a union between two people of the same gender, so yes, including "gay marriage" would be a radical change in the definition. But as I've said many times, the real issue has nothing to do with equal rights. In New Jersey, a state which has civil unions that basically function with the same "rights" as traditional marriage, gay and lesbian activists aren't satisfied. It has to be called "marriage", not because of any rights they are being denied, but more to bring their agenda to the mainstream and force their beliefs on others. I find it interesting that gay activists pride themselves on being different, yet fight so hard for stuff like this to "be like everyone else." If the rights they claim aren't there are already there, what IS the problem?

It's tough for me to really define what I think. I have lots of gay friends, so this isn't an issue of me having some sort of vendetta against the gay community. In the end, I have my beliefs based on how my life has unfolded and how I see things. The reality is that the "rights" available through marriage are largely already available to anyone, gay or not, married or not. And gays are by far the only group that cannot marry the person they want to either, so including just them in a new definition of marriage wouldn't be "equal" rights. Unless anyone can marry anyone without limit and have access to those rights, there will be inequality. Are we prepared to allow someone to marry more than one spouse? How about a close relative or even a minor? Any of those groups could successfully argue that they are being discriminated against and being denied "rights".

It's funny that not all conservatives see this the same way either. Sure you have religious conservatives who have beliefs about the definition and purpose of marriage, but you also have conservatives who simply believe that the government shouldn't have any role at all in marriage; that it's strictly a private contract between two consenting individuals and thus anyone can marry anyone. I see both and the more this debate drags on the more I see myself thinking that government should just abolish marriage as a government institution and leave it to religion. I definitely believe in the importance of a healthy marriage particularly in supplying children with not only a safe and loving environment, but role models of each gender. Single and gay parents are certainly capable of providing loving and safe environments--that's not the issue--but I firmly believe every child needs a steady male and female role model in their life (like an everyday part of their life) and the best people to fill that role are their parents. It takes far more than just love and support to raise a child. Having grown up in a home where my male role model was largely absent, there are definitely things I did not learn how to do simply because there was no one around to show me; basically I know what I missed out on.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The Supreme Court is currently a majority conservative court, so there is a chance they will rule that Prop 8 is not unconstitutional since gays and all individuals are free to marry anyone of the opposite gender and are not denied basic rights. This isn't even close to the civil rights era of the 1960s where we had people in inferior schools being denied basic protection by officers of the law and even the right to vote in many places. And of course nothing stops anyone from living with another person of their choosing. I hope we can come to a solution that satisfies everyone, but it doesn't look like that will happen anytime soon. You have the far right that wants to eliminate anything close to marriage for gays and lesbians and you have the far left that wants to redefine what marriage means and calling it anything else is not good enough. Basically, the far ends of the spectrum want to force their beliefs on everyone. Pointing out the failures of heterosexual marriages as a reason to change the definition of marriage, though, is a weak argument too. The divorce rate isn't high because we haven't allowed gays to legally marry; it's high because you have many people who should've never been married getting married, bad choices (like infidelity) within a marriage, AND divorce is easier than ever. Sigh.

My thoughts on "The Decision"

2010-07-12T23:36:00.003-04:00

Unless you have been in a cave for the last few weeks or simply don't read the news, chances are you have certainly heard about all the drama surrounding LeBron James and his eventual decision July 9 to sign with the Miami Heat after 7 years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only was this dragged out about as long as it possibly could with new rumors seemingly every day or more, but it culminated with a ONE HOUR ESPN special that James himself named "The Decision" and announced he was "taking his talents to South Beach" in addition to an entire program about himself. There was quite a negative reaction as you may have guessed from Cleveland fans, even though a lot of us had been expecting that he'd leave anyway.

As a Cavs fan of course I'm disappointed to see a player of this magnitude leave. As a Cleveland sports fan I've seen it all before: Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, and more. It seems if a Cleveland player in any sport does well, off they go. I have a hard time believing LeBron would've ever played for the Cavs if he hadn't been drafted. But even then, most people (myself included) aren't so upset he's leaving but HOW he decided to leave: dragging everyone through a drama-filled dog and pony show that was all about him. On top of that, now there's just tons of misinformation out there about WHY he left.

"The Cavs has 7 years and didn't do anything." Yes, the Cavs had 7 years, but to say they didn't do "anything" is incredibly misleading and inaccurate. The first 2-3 years don't really count because we have to remember the Cavs were only able to draft James because they were bad enough to be in the lottery. It's pretty difficult to go from a 17-65 team one year to a championship team the next. In James' first season, the Cavs improved quite a bit, but still didn't even make the playoffs. The Cavs didn't even make the playoffs until James' third season. Changing a team involves not only good management, but also players on market who want to come to the team or are available from other teams via trade. On top of that, the current owner didn't arrive until 2005, so there was a total change in management and direction at that point. Finally, just take a look at how well the Cavs have done the last few years, the last 2 seasons in particular. Both seasons they finished with the best regular-season record in the NBA and were the HEAVY favorites to win the title, only to lose in the playoffs. How convenient we have hindsight to say the team "wasn't that good" when in reality most people (not just Cavs fans) were stunned how easily the Cavs were beaten by the Magic in 2009 and the Celtics in 2010. The fact the Cavs didn't win the NBA title in '09 or '10 was not the fault of management for assembling the team. The only group to blame with the overall number one seed falls early is the team itself.

"LeBron doesn't owe fans anything." This is the biggest fallacy of all. Basketball (and all pro sports) is ENTERTAINMENT. They exist ONLY because of fan support, so athletes and entertainers DO owe fans A LOT; they owe fans their very existence. Fans are willing to spend money on game tickets, merchandise, TV packages, and more. If fans didn't spend the money, a team wouldn't pay someone MILLIONS of dollars to play basketball the same way a film company wouldn't pay an actor millions to star in a film if it wasn't going to draw fans. All businesses have to appreciate their customers or they will lose them, but especially non-essential business like entertainment. I don't think anyone expects LeBron to give us free tickets or anything; most people just wanted a simple "hey thanks for all the support. It means a lot and I will miss you all. This isn't because of you..." kind of thing. And not just Cavs fans either, but those fans who have cheered him on from grade school through high school in Akron. Don't forget, fans regularly filled the 5,500-seat Rhodes Arena in Akron while James was in high school and his team played there. In fact, his school, tiny St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, regularly outdrew the NCAA Division I University of Akron Zips in their own building while LeBron played there.

The more I see of professional sports like this, the more I question the point of it all. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE watching sports and "getting into the game." Even then, I can only go so far and have little sympathy for professional athletes making statements regarding "what's best for my family" when the two choices they have both involve making millions of dollars a year. As long as we accept, as a culture, that it's OK to live in absolute excess, we will always have poverty; the "haves" and the "have nots". By no means am I arguing for socialism or communism, no, what I'm arguing for is a voluntary change in our mindset as opposed to a legislated change (i.e. "redistribution of wealth"). As long as there are people willing to spend big bucks on entertainment, entertainers will continue to be paid outrageous salaries. Not just athletes, but all entertainers. And remember, I LOVE being an entertainer; I love performing and would love to entertain for a living. But can I honestly say I think an entertainer plays the same important role in our society as, say, a teacher? Not at all. If the NBA went bankrupt tomorrow and shut down, yes, a lot of people would be out of work from food vendors to executives. But would the world stop turning because we didn't have pro basketball? Hardly. Now, say the schools go bankrupt and shut down. How would that affect our world? I'd say quite a bit. Substitute any of our "essential" services (healthcare, law enforcement, military, etc.) into "schools" and you can see my point. In the end, pro sports and entertainment are great outlets for people, but we don't NEED them in their expensive "professional" states to entertain ourselves.

In the end, I'm still a Cavs fan as I learned long ago not to get attached to certain players because you end up getting burned more times than not. I could totally relate to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's open letter to the fans criticizing LeBron James. Not sure I would've said the same things or in the same way, but heck, he paid the guy millions of dollars and pretty much did everything he could to build the franchise around him, so I'd be pissed too! Yes, LeBron has the right and ability to take his "talents" wherever he wants, but as fans we also have the right and ability to express our opinions on the matter. All I can say is go Cavs and I hope James has the same "success" he had in the playoffs with the Cavaliers!

On my way up

2010-07-10T01:27:00.001-04:00

I finally moved into the world of professional sports in terms of singing the National Anthem, though I haven't hit the big leagues yet. This past Monday I sang for the Akron Aeros at Canal Park in nearby Akron, Ohio. The Aeros are the class AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. If you aren't familiar with the baseball hierarchy, AA ("double A") is two steps below the majors. Just below the major leagues is class AAA ("triple A") and there is also class A ("single A") and rookie league. The minor leagues are known as a "farm system". All teams except one single-A team in Kinston, North Carolina (Kinston Indians) and the Rookie League team (located in Goodyear, Arizona at the Indians' spring training complex) are located right here in Ohio. The AAA team is in Columbus (Columbus Clippers), the AA team in Akron, and 2 A teams in the area, one in Lake County (Lake County Captains) and one in Niles (Mahoning Valley Scrappers).

Singing in the middle of the field...thanks Manda Garvin for this shot!

One of the shots from Dad...although the Aeros gave us GREAT seats in the first row right behind home plate, they weren't so ideal for getting pictures of me singing since I had to face the flag in left-center field!

Walking off the field, feeling pretty good!! Thanks to Khris Garvin for this shot!

Walking up to Orbit, the Aero's mascot, after I sang.

Canal Park is a nice minor league stadium that opened in 1997 in downtown Akron. We've gone to several games there over the years and I've always had a good time. It's fun to be so close to the action, though being from Kent, I have discovered I can't utter the phrase "Go Akron" so I say "Go Aeros!" :) Anyway, I was very happy with how my singing went, though I wasn't able to get a recording of it. I was able to get several pictures thanks to several family members who came and a group from my local ward (congregation). There were some problems with my family getting into the stadium as the tickets that were supposed to be reserved weren't, so some confusion. Even when I got there I got the feeling people didn't know what to do with me. Having never sung for them before I certainly didn't know where to go! Once things got straightened out where I was supposed to go and everyone got in, I had a great time and even surprised myself how well I did. I was worried warming up it wouldn't be so hot, but for whatever reasons, I can "turn it on" when I need to. The 90 degree and somewhat humid weather didn't hurt either! I will say I honestly felt like my heart was going to stop after I started singing. I was standing in the middle of the field thinking how bad it would look if I passed out right there. Thankfully I made it! :)

I sent the CD of myself singing the Anthem back in March around my birthday. I actually sent recordings to 10 teams including the Aeros. The Aeros were the first team to get back to me, calling the very next day after I sent the recording in regular mail (granted, it didn't have to go far since all our mail goes to Akron anyway). Of the 9 other recordings I sent out (all to major league teams), I heard back from the Baltimore Orioles (who are the only ones who have an online way to send recordings!), Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs had already filled the spots for the season and the other teams simply acknowledged that they had received my recording. The Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays never sent any notice that they received anything. What I learned is to start sending the recordings out in early February instead of March. I am planning on sending recordings to the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers soon.