Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Picnic at Alms Park

What to do on an absolutely gorgeous day --- well, how about a picnic in the park? That is what we decided to do today for lunch. Sick of burgers, instead we drove through Lee’s and got a bucket of chicken with several side dishes. With Katie, Michael, Rachel, Nathan and Phil loaded in the van I drove north across the Ohio River and went out Columbia Parkway. Up the hill, admiring all the beautiful homes along the roads, we arrived at Alms Park.

In lieu of taking our lunch to a picnic table under the shade of the tall trees, we opted for the overlook. There were no tables so we simply put our cloth on the ground next to the tall, pretty pink flowers and ate on the ground. Maybe I was especially hungry, but for some reason, it seemed that the chicken in the bucket, sitting on the tablecloth surrounded by my family, with the sun bright and the deep, crisp blue sky overhead, my chicken tasted better than any I could remember...

After we finished, across the grass we spied an unusual slide – it appeared to be made out of concrete. No one wanted to give it a try, afraid of having their legs scraped raw going down it, I made the first move. I sat down and whoa, it was smooth as silk, and fast. Next we were all wanting to take turns. Katie, Rachel and Michael slid down several times until the phone rang. Yep, it was Amy; it was time for Rachel to come home for an orthodontia appointment.


We headed back to the car, and drove slowly through the park as we were on our way home. Around the bend we stopped to look down at Lunken Airport and watch a plane take off. Two hours had flown by in this beautiful park. Everyone agreed it was a great day to have a picnic in the park. And, we were ready to plan about the next time we were going to come back.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Day in Chicago

Testing some video from last year... posting...

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Fire Pit


Today was one of our first really hot days – it was officially 92 degrees. The air hung low and was very humid. It was miserably uncomfortable, especially since our central air was not working.

So, what did we decide to do tonight? Yep, if it weren’t hot enough already, we decided to play with fire.

As usual, we had Jeff get the fire going in the fire pit. Jeff is the master of the ceremonial fire. I have often wondered why people, especially men, love playing with fire. From college I remember that Freud found fire to be a symbol of male power. Perhaps, fire shows control over a circumstance or a struggle, depending on whether the fire is controlled or not. Regardless, it does have a magical effect on all of us, male and female, adult and child.

Maybe we have a primordial instinct somewhere deep inside us that gets us in touch with something inside us when we see fire. A zombie-like mixture of respect and curiosity takes over us. In a way it's like watching a life force.

Before I had too much time to ponder the meaning of fire, the kids laughed and danced, almost some kind of ancient ritual dance, around the fire. Now more relaxed and subdued, the kids happily made smores in the fire.


Since Jeff is our master of fire, next we had him light fireworks as the adults drank ice cold drinks while the kids oohed and aahed.

Yes, for some reason, we all are mesmerized by fire. Fire in a pit, fire in a fireplace, fire in the air (fireworks) or the fire of the sun.
Maybe we don’t need any explanation as to why we enjoy fire; maybe it was just a way to bring family and friends together to enjoy laughter and conversation.