Unemployment in Dayton = 12.5% for April...

This does not include the recently announced Iams (yes, the pet food company)relocating headquarters jobs down to Cincy which is probably a manageable commute for most employees,

and,

NCR pulling up stakes and going to Atlanta. NCR was a pioneer in employee focused work environments. In the late 1890's and early 1900's, Patterson's NCR was what Google is today. Patterson realized how awful the factory environment was and had floor to ceiling windows installed as well as ventilation hoods. He went on to provide on-site daycare, doctor, cafeteria,, showers and locker rooms, gymnasium, first aid stations, and lovely landscaped grounds amongst other niceties. Certainly was not the typical sweatshop environment that dominated the manufacturing plants of the day. Anyway, NCR is, err, was a Dayton company, but no more.

Not sure what will become of Dayton without the ability to keep our anchors here. Half of Dayton seems to be named after Patterson... I think he'd be pissed. He seemed to have a pretty strong sense of community and social welfare.

So, the national average for unemployment was 8.6 in April. Dayton ran at a cool 12.5 and Ohio, 10.2. The coming months are certain to climb higher.

On another note, my Mr. Barr's wife died on Tuesday. He seemed "ok" about it, but you can never tell with the men of his generation. I am going to be keeping a closer eye on the fellow for a while. She had been in a nursing home for about 5 months, I think. I never met her.

Back to the fruitless job search.

Farewell My Friend

On Sunday Nivedita left this world, on her journey to places we truly know nothing of.

She waged a fierce war with bone cancer, typical Nivedita style, pulling out all the stops, and trying every avenue of treatment she could unearth and maintaining a very positive attitude.

She figured prominently in my life in my early years in SF. She was my first real friend in CA. She lived life fully and with a heart that was warm and welcoming to all.

I met her the day she celebrated her 40th birthday. I was about 24. I had read, in Coming UP! (later to become the Bay Times) about a benefit 40th birthday party being held at Olive Oil's down on the wharf.

I had only been in SF about 4 months, and wanted to meet a woman that would have enough friends to throw such a bash at a big space like that and for it to be a fundraiser. I met her briefly that night. A true social butterfly, she was in high demand on her big day. She briefly told me about a "women's float" that she wanted to have built for the upcoming gay pride parade (well it was many months away) and invited me to be part of the float building team.

Well that was right up my alley, and a good way to meet chicks. I was, after all about 24, and always up for some fun. It didn't take long to click with Nivedita, or Laura aka Larry, who won the design competition for the float. I made a few other friends during those days working on that big styrofoam woman.

Nivedita was in law school and was a very active woman. We would go on group trips to women's weekend at the Russian River and we just hung out a lot. She used to have this cute little tiny doggette type dog that I would keep an eye on for her. When he went to pee, he would stand up on his 2 front legs with his back legs in the air, a doggie paw stand to pee. Funny little shit.

Anyway, Nivedita LIVED life, and I watched the way she went about the world and learned a great deal from her. She never met a stranger, or so it seemed. She was known and loved widely in the bay area.

She ended up moving up to Napa and our visits became limited to special events and so forth. You know how life gets on the treadmill. Good intentions and all that, but it becomes hard to bridge even that distance regularly.

Her impact on my life, however, is present every single day.

Nivedita my love, go forth on your new journey will all the warmth, love and gusto with which you lived this one.

You will always be a part of the woman I grew to be. Thank you, my dear friend and mentor in life.

Comments

just a note, not sure how it affects those wanting to leave comments...

i started getting spam comments on my blog posts, so I now have it set so that I need to approve comments before they show up.

Just an FYI...

Snuggie the Stray

Well, Snuggie is starting to stray.

About 4 nights ago I could not find him. I stayed up until 3:30 calling him (with the dog whistle - so the neighbors wouldn't shoot me or call the cops...) and then woke up at 6 and he still was not around. I finally found him across Route 4 in the edge of the woods behind the house across the street. That house is empty and is alternately for sale and for rent. He seemed real real happy to see me. Not as much as the time he was truly lost for 5 days in El Sobrante, but he clearly was happy to see me.

Next night, I shut him in about 8 pm when he came to eat.

Next night, he did not come in during the evening and I called up until 1:30 and nothing, so I went to bed. I have to shut the cat window to keep the other 3 out of harms way. He came in the next morning about 7 and slept for several hours.

Next night, did not come and I finally went to bed at midnight. Did not come in until nearly 9 this morning.

I have not seen him this afternoon. Got home around 2 from going to the cemetary with Mom and no Snuggie.

I hope he does not make this a habit. I worry with him crossing the road and there are a lot of raccoons here. He is no match for a grown raccoon.

I'll keep you posted... cause I know you are ALL worried about my Snugster!

Big sisters are wonderful

So, a shout out to my sissy.

Thanks for the care package my dear. You are a peach!

Now, what are those long things? I imagine I will have egg on my face when you tell me!

We went to Jungle Jim's today, and I totally spaced on getting the supplies for my sumptuous treat... We also had lunch at Buffalo Wings and Rings, a very POOR cousin to BW3's - they have a new name Buffalo something or other, anyway, they are off the chart for wings-- their garlic parmesan wings are wonderful. The place we went today... forgetable!

At Jungle Jim's I also forgot to get the sambal oelek and five spice for the chicken wings mom wants me to make. I felt real good remembering the kejcap manis... oh well, next time I will take a freaking list with me! I did find some aioli, but it was French, not Spanish and it looked too yellow... not sure how the French and Spanish do it different...

Well, just wanted to say thanks to my sissy for her care packages, sent with love across the miles. You rock!

I am going to take mom to Savannah's (my sissy's youngest grandchild) track and field day at school on Friday. Savannah is almost 7 and a pistol. I'll give her some grandma Sherry love for you.

This Sunday we are going up to Columbus (1.5 hours away) to go to COSI (center for science and industry) with my sister's daughter, her husband and all 3 of the kids. That should be a fun day!

Rest of weekend will likely be yard work - I need to mow mom's yard, weed eat her yard and clean out her front gutter and redo the gutter guards that are not stopping the maple tree things from clogging her downspouts.

Then, there is all the stuff to do in my yard, like about 10 hours of weed eating, removing sod I cut up 2 weeks ago, planting the vine seeds, putting up the trellis' (get the supplies to finish that last 3...) and well, still have done nothing to the inside of the mansion...

living on e street, kicking back eating bon bons!

Yup. wild and crazy living here in the midwest.

Life

Well, ok, Monday was Dad's birthday.

We stayed super busy that day. I went out early and picked up a load of hay to use as garden mulch and stopped by mom's with it. We did a little planting and such in her yard (mostly sweet potato slips).

Then we drove up to New Lebanon to the bank. Our bank reissued everyone's credit/debit cards because there was a possible compromise of the security. Well, as luck would have it, mom's new card was screwed up. The banker tried to fix it during the 30 minutes we were there, but no luck, so we had to come back.

Now, for most of you, I'll remind you that this is the very bank where Dad fell, the fall that turned the tide of his life. So, we were just going to roll through the drive up ATM, but no, the ATM said her account was deactivated. So we had to sit inside the bank while it was worked on. We finally left, problem not resolved, and went out to Stockslager's nursery to get more sweet potato slips. Duke (second generation owner) was there and he said to say Hello to my sister Sherry. So, sis, Hello from Duke. I told him about your 5 acres and that he ought to be glad you were in TX or you'd be giving him a run for his money!

We went on out to Eaton and had lunch and bought some temporary fencing supplies for our Possum Creek Garden. Mom is worried the deer will eat our moisture/weed barrier hay. We stopped on the way back to visit dad. Boy, that was tough. We either start out these visits laughing and end them crying or vice versa. This one ended with the crying, err sobbing.

We went back to the damn bank where he fell and after another 30 minutes the problem was resolved and mom is now in plastic business. We then went to Possum Creek, planted the sweet potato slips and put up part of the plastic fence. I still have a section to till up with the tiller from HELL - so the rest of the fence won't go up until that section is completed.

Then, we came to Kia Rio and moved a little bit of dirt, aka excavated, my stone walkway. I then took mom home and we had dinner and I got home about 10.

So, that is how we survived dad's birthday this year.

We have been doing stuff in our own yards and I have gone to Possum Creek (PC) to water. We totally skipped spring. It has been in the 80's for a few days now, not good for freshly planted plants and seeds. Praying for rain.

I have been working in my yard and have some headway on the herb/veggies in my own yard.

I have also modified some 2 x 8 heavy duty lattice to make trellis' to place behind the house. They will be about a foot away from the house and I am going to plant annual vines on them. One is a yellow black eyed susan and the other is, I think, a carpet vine or something, anyway, it is red. I plan on intermingling them, so most of the back of the house will hopefully be green foiliage with red and yellow flowers. In the late fall, I will take them down (there are 6) remove the dead vine materials (fun times for all) and store them until next spring and repeat. I'll likely do this until I can (1) afford to buy a really large native tree and (2) until it is big enough to shade the back side of the house.

Isn't my life sexy as hell here?

Oh, more news I have a weird movable bump on my left thumb, right at the joint (not the knuckle) at the web. Mom says it is from over use of gardening tools and said she has had them in the past. My arm still hurts and my hand is still sore.

I still feel like I have a knife inserted by my right scapula, but the pain is subsiding. My darling brother is sending me a Sears card so I can sneak off and do things for mom and let him pick up the tab. First stop??? New freaking tiller. He is a good brother and a good son.

Ok, nuff for this post!

Riveting, yes?

My Mr. Barr

So, it is time to start introducing ya'll to the folks in the hood. Well, the ones I know or know something of.

We'll start with my Mr. Barr.

Odell is going to turn 90 this August. He lives about 4 houses down from me in this house:



behind this set of old auto garages, which he still owns:



behind the garages and to the right of the house, is a broken up old greenhouse. To the immediate right of the garages, is a white building/garage that used to be his flower shop. He sold flowers for a living and it sounds like he rented out the auto garage to other folks.

So, Mr. Barr is a willowy man, about 5'8" or so, I am guessing. He has about 7 or 8 of his teeth left, and does not wear dentures. He always wears a ball cap. Because he has so few teeth and no dentures, it is sometimes kinda hard to understand what he says, so you have to listen real close sometimes.

I see him a lot now that the weather broke. He walks nearly a half a mile, always with a walking stick, to the bus stop and takes the bus up to a shopping center called Westown. There is one of those economy grocery stores, a CVS pharmacy, a post office, a dollar store and a few little family owned clothing shops. There used to be some restaurants and such, but most have gone under. This is the poor side of town and things are tough.

Mr Barr has now gotten to where he will yell or do some type of whistling if he sees me in the yard and I do not see him. I love talking to this guy.

He has given me and mom two tomato plants this spring and I just gave him some of the Persian cucumber seeds that I ordered from Reimer Seeds.

Last week he stopped by and was telling me about his white girlfriend down in TN near Nashville where he grew up. He was from a big family. I think somewhere between 8 to 12 kids, not sure, and he says they were the only black family for a 3 mile radius. He told me they were not sharecroppers like most black folks around there during that time. His daddy had worked for the railroad and those were good quality jobs. He said he had pocket money in the summer and would come up north here and goof off as a teen.

He moved into that house what sounds like in the late 40's or early 50's.

His wife (second) is currently in a nursing home. I have never met her.

Today he pointed out a "medicine" plant by my gate. He was pointing to the poke that mom asked me, just yesterday, if I was going to cut and use. She said I needed to get those leaves NOW. Well, Mr Barr said he used to come down here and pick it for the older folks in the neighborhood. I don't know how long ago this was, knowing him it was 2 years ago!

He is a fun guy to talk to and I got a big scare a few weeks ago. For some unknown reason, I was up at midnight, sitting on the couch. I saw a cop car go by with lights flashing. That doesn't really happen a whole lot here. I didn't pay too much attention until the second one came by and was going slower and I could still see the lights flashing. I looked out the window to see the car stopped about 15 feet past my driveway - in the same direction of Mr. Barr's house.

We'll I got worried, hearing other sirens screaming in on us, about my Mr. Barr. I grabbed my shoes and ran out the front door. Just as I reached my steps, I saw big flames shooting up above the IF, in the very direction where his house is.

I tell you I was so scared I had tears streaming down my face long before I got to the cop car. The cop said it was the garage building and as far as he knew Mr. Barr was fine.

Well it was only about 2 minutes before Carter (I'll give you a run down on her another time) was standing next to me, worried about Ramona, another older lady that lived right down there.

We waited for about 30 minutes and no sign of ambulances, so we felt good about Mr Barr and Ramona's well being and we went home.

Next morning I went down to his house and knocked but no one answered. I think his daughter who lives less than 2 miles away probably came to get him. It smelled like kerosene.

Mr. Barr said somebody had been asking him to sell that garage that used to be his flower shop to them and he kept telling them no. He told me that his house does not have water or a well anymore. He gets his house water from the old flower shop building which is on city water. He said he saw the people who wanted to buy it messing around there earlier in the day before the fire. He thinks it was arson because they were mad he wouldn't sell it.

I don't know, but I was sure glad he was ok.

Well, my hand has rested enough, gotta get back out and finish mowing the yard.

I had no idea that walk behind mowers could have such a range of total weight. I used mom's last summer and then in the late fall I bought a new mower from Sears.

Well, my mower must weigh a good 40 pounds more than hers. It is a real bitch to mow along the steep angle by the road and it is just harder to maneuver altogether. To top it off, the power assisted wheels control is just on the right side, so you can only use one hand to hold the handle down.

I'll be glad when most of my grass is converted into something much more sensible.

Oh, I told Mr. Barr that mom was "weed and feeding" her grass and you should have seen the look on his face! I tried to gently explain to her the reasons not to - just related to the true health of her grass and soil, and not budging. Sees too many marketing materials and is convinced that is the way to go.

Grrrr. Get ready for mowing every 4 damn days.