Category Archives: Event

The Growing Season

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In 1968, it took a full seven games to determine a MLB World Series champion. The seventh game, which saw the Tigers top the Cardinals, was played on October 10.

Last night, just a little before 11:30, the teams participating in the 2018 World Series were finally determined. It will be the American League Red Sox versus the National League Dodgers in the best of seven contest that starts next Tuesday. If somebody sweeps the series in four games, it will be over on Saturday. If all seven games are required, it won’t be over until the following Wednesday. That’s Wednesday, October 31. Halloween. The last day of the month. The game is scheduled to start at 8:09 ET so it’s conceivable that extra innings could push it past midnight and into November. That’s exactly what occurred in game #4 in 2001. That series was delayed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The game went to ten innings and ended at 12:04 AM November 1 marking the first time Major League Baseball was played in November. The series went to seven games meaning three were played entirely in the eleventh month of the year. In fact, between that first extra-inning slip into November and this year’s potential for doing the same, a total of nine games have started and ended beyond October. What the heck — besides color cameras everywhere — happened?

Expansion, with maybe just a touch of Participation Trophy mentality, happened. From 1903 through 1960, the top tier of professional baseball was comprised of sixteen teams divided into two eight team leagues. Two teams were added to the American League in 1961 and two more to the National League in 1962. The regular season became a little longer, meaning the post season started a little later, but it still looked the same. The team with the best record in one league went off to battle the team with the best record in the other league. Simple, straight forward, and easy to understand. Your top outfit plays our top outfit and the winner takes all.

Then the expansion of 1969 added two more teams to each league. Someone decided that the dozen teams in each league was too many to simply play each other and compare end of season records, so the leagues were divided into two divisions each and the league playoff series was invented. In 1977, the American League once again took the lead in number of teams by adding two more. The National League didn’t catch up until 1993.

Two more teams were added in 1998. Some strange shuffling took place but things eventually settled down to today’s arrangement of two leagues with three five team divisions each. When the regular season ends these days, ten teams, a full third, have a shot at the World Series. Each of the two leagues has a Wild Card Game, two Division Playoff Series, and a League Championship Series to figure out who gets to play in the final games of the year.

Incidentally, the shuffling that occurred in the wake of adding the 29th and 30th teams led to teams playing across the league boundaries to help with scheduling. Before that, no American League team ever faced a National League team in a real game before the World Series.

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 to top Babe Ruth’s record of 60 for a season. Because Maris played 162 games versus Ruth’s 154, there was talk of marking his record with an asterisk. The asterisk never actually existed but the two records were kept separate. I know not everyone agrees, but that more or less made sense to me at the time. What would make even more sense to me is to put an asterisk on every post season game since that playoff stuff started in 1969. And maybe two asterisks on games with a designated hitter.

Fish Farm Fun

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I like fish… and I like shrimp… and I’ve lived my entire life in Ohio. Why, then, did it take me 17 years to get to the Ohio Fish & Shrimp Festival? Is a puzzlement. It becomes an even bigger puzzlement when you add in the fact that I like music and this is a festival with a reputation for putting some of the best local and regional entertainment available on its stage.

I don’t know about previous festivals but this year’s event covered three days. I made it on Saturday, the middle day, and I made it in time to catch part of the day’s opening performance. The very impressive Devil Doves are based in Columbus, Ohio.

I hung out near the stage until the set was finished then headed up the hill to check out the festival’s reason for being. There are multiple food vendors present but the Fresh Water Farms is the host and naturally has the biggest stand in the best location. I’m a sucker for coconut shrimp so that’s what I picked from an extensive bill of fare. That’s kale Caesar salad in the box and it was delicious. So was the shrimp.

I was eating at one of the tables when Mustards Retreat began their set. The group from Michigan served up some excellent vocal harmonies. This would be the last group I saw. The next group was still on their way when Mustards Retreat finished and I decided not to wait out the delay although I’m sure it was a short one. There would be a total of five bands on Saturday ending with the outstanding Teeny Tucker. Check out the full festival lineup here.

Beer and wine are available but there is an alcohol free zone that includes some of the food vendors and a children’s play area. Speakers at the back of the stage means the live music can be heard through much of this area.

Some of the actual farm facilities lie just beyond the play area and were open for exploring.

On the way back to the festival’s main area, I grabbed some pistachio gelato for dessert. I finished it as Mustards Retreat finished their set. Then, as mentioned earlier, I headed home happy to have added another fine Ohio festival to my experience.

Boats, Bikes, and Biplanes

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Just about the time that last week’s post was being automatically published, I set out to join some friends at a floating house on Norris Lake in Tennessee. I hit rain shortly after leaving home and it pretty much stayed with me through the first half of the drive. It was dry when I reached the lake although a large portion of the sky was cloud covered. The clouds would be present for almost all of the two days I was there. No so the dry.

But, even though a dry sky was not a constant, neither was it completely absent and we did get in a couple of waterbourne cruises. And we got in plenty of relaxation and scenery study with very pleasant temperatures.

On Tuesday, I left ahead of the others and headed to Bowling Green, Ohio. When the first Motorcycle Cannonball passed through Tennessee in 2010, I was there as vintage bikes carried their riders over the Cherohala Skyway and on to an overnight in Chattanooga. The 2012 and 2014 events eluded me completely, but I did get a look at the 2016 group during its scheduled lunch stop at a Harley Davidson dealership near my home. My drive to Bowling Green was to connect with this year’s group. Timing was tight, but I was on pace to get there during the evening display period — until I hit Cincinnati. Traffic slowed, slowed some more, crept along fitfully, and finally came to a halt. Men appeared about three cars in front of me and began placing cones across I-75 while directing traffic onto Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway. Cars just a few yards ahead of me were trapped on the other side of those cones. I later learned that the closure was triggered by an overturned truck. Heavy traffic and surface street construction didn’t help one bit, but I did eventually make it back to the expressway about four miles and an hour and a half later. I considered simply heading home but didn’t. Of course, none of the Cannonball motorcycles were on display when I reached Bowling Green and even the vendor and organizer tents were being emptied. I found a cheap motel to roost in for the night.

It was an entirely different scene when I returned for the morning launch. The Cannonball website lists 123 entrants and it looked like almost all were ready or getting ready to roll. Only motorcycles built before 1929 were permitted in this year’s event. The trio of Nortons consists of a 1915 model sandwiched between a 1923 (#115) and 1925. The website lists #32 as an Indian but that’s obviously a Henderson in the second picture. Beyond it are two 1911 Excelsiors. The third picture shows 1928 and 1927 Indians followed by a 1928 BMW.

And of course they made sidecars before 1929. Here we have Gene Harper with his 1924 Indian Chief and Doc Hopkins’ 1916 Harley Davidson. You just can’t get much cooler than traveling coast to coast in a wicker basket.

I don’t know who this gal is but I do know that the event simply could not function without her. She jumped in the air, waved the starting flag, and shouted encouragement as each bike departed. This was the beginning of Stage #5 which ends in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The ride will end in Portland, Oregon, on the 23rd.

On Saturday I made it up to the WACO Fly-In in Troy, Ohio. WACO airplanes were manufactured in Troy between 1920 and 1947. My first time attending was in 2006. I also documented a 2014 visit and I made a couple of undocumented stops between 2006 and ’14. Both my memory and notes support the idea that there were more WACO airplanes there on my first visit than at any of the others. My memory, without any notes to support it, thinks there might have been more non-WACO airplanes there this year than on previous visits.

But regardless of numbers, seeing these beautiful airplanes up close and watching them fly overhead is always a thrill and the day’s perfect weather made it even better.

18th Century Flashback

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The Ohio Renaissance Festival began its 2018 run on Saturday as did the Fair at New Boston some twenty-five mile to the north. The Festival will last two months, operating every weekend in September and October. The Fair will last two days. The Festival celebrates 16th century England. The Fair decidedly does not. The Fair represents a settlement in the Ohio territory in the year 1798 when the England of any century was anything but celebrated. The war that had ripped thirteen of England’s colonies away from her was a very fresh memory in the fledgling United States of America of the day.

I’d attended the Fair at New Boston once before, in 2010. As it did then, the day began with a parade…

…and some opening ceremonies. The flag was raised to the top of the pole then lowered to the halfway point in recognition of the 21st century death of Senator John McCain.

With the fair officially open, the entertainment commenced immediately. Pictured are Johnathon Hagee, Jack Salt & the Captain’s Daughter, and the Clockwork Clown.

I’d essentially jumped out of bed and headed straight to the fair, then followed the parade through town and paused to be entertained. It was now time for breakfast. Freshly peeled peaches and pound cake were just about perfect.

I then headed to Cheapside Theater for the world premier of Bard of New Boston, a play comprised of Shakespeare excerpts. Volunteers from the audience fill out the trio of witches from Macbeth. Complaining about the lack of a Romeo, Juliet begins the balcony scene by herself before the town rat-catcher steps up. This guy roams all about the fair with a couple of live rats in a cage and a stuffed one in his hands and in your face. His general griminess and very audible flatulence adds to the image. He spent the first half of the play heckling the actors before bringing a dash of romance to the stage. The whole company appears at the end in a curtain-less curtain call.

I completely missed out on the preparation and just barely arrived in time for the hot air balloon launch. A strong cord between balloon and owner kept the two from being separated as the former led the latter though the fairgrounds before cooling and landing.

Authenticity and historic accuracy is stressed at the fair and that includes the nearby Kispoko Town. I eavesdropped a bit on the fellow drying pumpkin rind and heard the two young observers getting what I suspect will be a rather memorable history lesson.

I missed out on this year’s historical speakers, which included Simon Kenton, Chief Blackhoof, and Daniel Boone, and I took off before the reenactment of the Battle of Picawey. Clouds were gathering and I had things to do so decided it was time to leave.    

Two Oldies and Something New

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This is a triple play post. It begins with the oldest of three events I attended on three consecutive days this week. On Thursday, I stopped by The Great Darke County Fair in Greenville, Ohio. The first was held in 1853. The one just now ending is the 163rd. The difference between number of years (166) and number of fairs are the cancellations in 1862 and ’63 for the Civil War and 1949 for a polio outbreak.

There was a time when I’d walk through the barns and exhibit halls seeking out the entries of friends and relatives, but no more. At best, a familiar family name might identify a grandchild of someone I once knew but even that’s pretty iffy.

On Friday I took in the 53rd annual Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in Portland, Indiana. That’s the same place I attended the National Vintage Motor Bike meet about a month ago. My friend Dale had a tent at the bike show. This time it was my friend Terry with his fleet of Wheel Horses. That’s Terry in the white shirt talking with another Wheel Horse collector. In the post about the Vintage Motor Bikes, I mentioned how deep the discussions can get when two bicycle collectors get together. Same thing with tractors, and when both collect the same brand, the level of detail absolutely pegs the meter. Turns out they are not actually talking about Wheel Horses in the picture. They’re talking about that strange looking REO riding reel mower in front of them.

The second picture shows a Crosley V8. The fellow displaying it made it by joining together two Crosley four cylinders. Even though it’s his creation, it’s not his idea. Apparently Crosley Corporation made a few of their own “twin-4s” though they were not very successful. Crosley experimented with a whole lot of rather bizarre concepts and this guy seems to own one of just about all of them and brings a different set each year. That’s a cord braider in the last picture. I tried getting a video of the thing in action but it was a complete failure. I do have a somewhat close-up picture, though.

The third thing of the week was the new thing. The first Porchfest took place in Ithaca, New York in 2007. The concept of local musicians playing on people’s front porches really caught on and there are now Porchfests across the country. Dayton, Ohio, got on board just last year. The Dayton Porchfest happens in the St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood which I’ve written about before. It’s where “my brewery” (Fifth Street Brewpub) is. This year, just like last, the T.R.S.S Drum Corp started things off without the need for a porch.

At the top of each of the next five hours, musicians would begin performances on eight to ten of the neighborhood’s porches. That’s a whole bunch of music. The three groups pictured, the Good Time Accordion Band, A Shade of Red, and the Gotham City Brass Quintet, are just a fraction of what I saw and I saw just a fraction of what was offered.

Some rain had fallen earlier and a drizzle appeared about halfway through the drum corp’s performance. It came and went as I took in a song or two from most of the first set of musicians. It became a steady shower while I paused at the brewpub. I actually set out for a second round but changed my mind within a few feet. It wasn’t a heavy rain but it was enough to send me to my car instead of walking down the street. The bands played on to umbrella covered listeners. Porchfest is a wonderful concept, and I certainly enjoyed my first rain shortened exposure. I’ll be watching for the event’s return next year. 

Jeep Jam 2018

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For a number of years, although I don’t know what that number is, something called Jeep Jam has taken place on a farm near Willmington, Ohio. It moved to the Clinton County Fairgrounds this year and that move helped bring the event to the attention of my buddy John who lives close enough to the fairgrounds to hear knobbies spinning in mud pits. The threat of rain had caused a Friday night concert to be canceled but it did not affect the planned cruise-in much if at all. John reported a downtown filled with Jeeps parked for viewing. On Saturday, he and I went to the fairgrounds.

There were vendors selling food and all sorts of four wheel drive related merchandise, and there were Jeeps. Lots of Jeeps. Hundreds of Jeeps. The majority didn’t look all that changed from when they left the dealer but some were clearly experienced and eager off-road machines. This open-wheeled specimen was probably the most battle ready vehicle we saw.

Many of the Jeeps were parked which allowed guys like us to walk by and look them over. Others were in long slow moving lines going somewhere. Some were headed to riding trails both on and off site. Those in the first picture were working their way to an obstacle course which featured the piles of mud in the second picture.

We didn’t study the whole course so can’t say if this was really the highlight but it did seem to be where most of the attention was focused. This clearly wasn’t a super challenge for a Jeep, but it did provide plenty of fun without undue risk.

A concert featuring Molly Hatchet would close out the day, and was included in our $5 admission. Neither of us were big Molly Hatchet fans and there really wasn’t all that much to hold a non-Jeep-owning spectator’s attention until then. A walk to the far end of the grounds and back was enough for us. However if you own a Jeep and wanted to get it dirty, add some accessories, or swap stories with other owners, this was the place to be. 

Another Cardboard Regatta

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There’s a new Cardboard Boat Regatta in the neighborhood. It’s not new to the world, but it’s new to me. Saturday’s event was the fourth Little Miami Cardboard Boat Regatta to take place at Oeder’s Lake near Zoar, Ohio. It isn’t as big or as old as the New Richmond Cardboard Boat Regatta which will happen for the 26th time next Saturday, but it is a well organized and well attended event that’s filled with fun will likely only get bigger. I’d learned of the regatta just a couple of days ago and decided to attend just a couple of hours before I pulled into the big field beside the lake.

Despite my last minute decision to attend, I was there in time to look over most of the entrants and there were some great ones. Mixing cardboard with a little water seems a natural recipe for creativity.

There were a few vendors on site selling snacks and soft drinks but that was really the only thing to spend money on. There was an entry fee for race participants, but, thanks to several sponsors and the generosity of the Oeder family, everything else was free. That included several bounce houses and other entertainment for kids and a train that ran non-stop and which I never again saw any where near as empty as in the photo.

For me, the pre-race entertainment was a couple of remote control boats sailing around the lake. I spoke with one of the owners and verified that they really are sailing craft. No propellers or motors. The operator controls the rudder and sail angle and hopes for a gentle breeze.

At high noon, the first heat assembled on the dock. Safety rules and, even though the lake is rather shallow, no one is allowed on that dock without a life jacket. As that first heat rounds the first buoy, a rescue boat can be seen in the background. Off to the right, a pair of suited up and ready scuba divers stood at water’s edge.

No one was ever in danger but many were in water. The rescue boat saw plenty of work picking up abandoned boats and pieces of boats.

Most of the events were timed races but the last — and it’s pretty obvious why it’s last — was the Crash Derby. I counted about twenty boats that had survived their races and were ready to rumble. Rules were fairly lax with hitting opponents with paddles just about the only thing strictly forbidden.

Mayhem reigns until just one boat is left upright and then continues. In a lake filled with wet and determined attackers, winning the Crash Derby does not mean surviving it.

Vintage Bikes and More

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On Thursday, I was back at the Jay County Fairgrounds near Portland, Indiana. It’s a place I’ve been to a couple of times before for the Antique Engine & Tractor Show where my friend Terry displays his collection of Wheel Horses. In 2015, my friend Dale met me there. This time I was there for the National Vintage Motor Bike Club annual meet, and it was Dale who had the trailer full of gear. The picture at right shows vintage motor bikes all set to head out of the gate for a fairly slow cruise around the area.

Dale and I were already nearly ten years into our lifelong friendship when we acquired our first motorized transportation. His was an Allstate Mo‑Ped; Mine was a Whizzer. I talk a bit about both vehicles here. I believe Dale’s Mo-Ped was actually much shinier that this example but it never had saddlebags or a windshield. I don’t think either of us knew what a helmet was in those days, either. My Whizzer never looked half as good as those in the picture. That’s a mighty nice looking scaled down replica, too.

Despite the word “motor” in the event’s name, I’m guessing that nearly half of the bikes on the grounds were people-powered. That’s why Dale was there, and the collection in the last picture is the one he brought with him.

Here’s a little better view of the banner at the left of the previous picture. Heart of the City is the name of the bicycle ministry operated by Mission Church Fort Wayne. I stopped by their shop, where Dale and other volunteers repair and recondition bikes for the homeless and inner city’s needy, a few years ago. That’s Dale remounting a wheel after fixing a flat. Orley, another volunteer, was with Dale today but I failed to get a picture. All of the bicycles the two of them brought to the meet are for sale. They are a mixture of Dale’s personal “extras” and some that have been donated to the ministry but aren’t really appropriate for the earn-a-bike program.

This was the first day of the event, and my theory is that most of the traffic was from other participants seeing what everybody else had to offer. Sales were not brisk, but neither were they non-existent. By far the most interesting of the few I witnessed, was this one. I’d noticed this fellow, or at least his hat, during a little walkabout Dale and I did. He is both a collector and an active supporter of some sort of earn-a-bike program in the Detroit area. Some people walked their purchases, and some held a “new” bike’s handlebars to tow it beside the bike they were riding. This guy just slung it over his back and putted away. All that was interesting, of course, but what I thought even more so was the conversation he and Dale had as they roamed among the bikes. With an often foreign vocabulary, they discussed who made what, when they made it, and why this was good and that was bad. I didn’t understand much but I sure did appreciate it. Incidentally, that yellow bike in the first picture is one that Dale fabricated following some Cannondale geometry. There’s a better view here.

Not surprisingly, there were also a few interesting four wheeled vehicles around. We found the Nash woodie on our walkabout. The Amphicar drove by as we sat behind the bikes. As told below, I would see it again in a couple of days.

When this nattily dressed fellow pedaled by, Dale told me that he and his wife Marsha each own a trike like this. He didn’t tell me whether they dress in pure white and wear straw skimmers when they go out riding them but I’m guessing not.
 

The red Amphicar that we saw in Portland, Indiana, is in the front row of this group of Amphicars in Celina, Ohio. On Saturday, during the annual Lake Festival, an attempt was made to break the Guinness Record for the Largest Gathering of Amphicars which stood, and disappointingly still stands, at 75. This group was slightly smaller at 72. I identified the car seen in Portland by its watercraft license number, and spoke briefly with its owners.

Nothing soothes the pain of a near miss on a world record like a splash in the lake, and many of the cars’ owners wasted little time in doing exactly that.  

Ts at a Hundred and Ten

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Richmond, Indiana, seems to have become the de facto Model T Capital of the World. The Model T Ford Club of America is headquartered there and operates a marvelous museum dedicated to Henry’s world changing creation. In 2008, when the T turned 100 years old, Richmond hosted a birthday party attended by approximately 1000 of the cars. I was there for one day. This year, with the T turning 110, Richmond had another party. It wasn’t nearly as big as the centennial bash but it was still a pretty big deal with about 100 Ford Model Ts showing up. Again, I was there for one day, Saturday.

Some of those 100 or so visiting Model Ts were parked in the street but many were in the museum’s parking lot. It was a great day for looking the cars over but, because of their proximity to one another and the number of people sharing the space, getting good photos wasn’t so easy. A dead skunk emerging from beneath a rear tire does seem to provide a little extra space, however.

The museum was open and entirely free all day which really was great but the space and people issues seen outside were amplified inside. A chunk of normally open space in the annex was filled with a series of seminars.

I’ve visited the museum in the past when I was the only one there and I expect that will happen again. Today’s lack of “photo space” didn’t really bother me. The cars, in fact, were not the primary reason I was there. I’d first learned of this event last fall on a visit to the museum to see a car named the Silver Streak. In the 1930s and ’40s, a group of young women had used the Streak to travel the country. The car was on loan from its current owner, John Butte. I bought a copy of the book John had written about the car and was in Richmond today to get it signed and meet its author. John is in all three of these photos. The third includes his wife Carmen and the Silver Streak. A few pictures of the car accompanied my review of the book.

Doug Partington is the owner of another Model T with a great story guy. The Wikner Ford Special is the very first race car built in Australia. Doug bought the partially disassembled car when he was fourteen. Only after he’d had considerable fun and success racing the car did he learn of its unique history. The Wikner Ford Special will be on display at the museum for the next eighteen months. The Silver Streak will be leaving in August.

Among the many Model Ts on display was an open car much like the one my great grandparents drove to Florida in 1920 and a green coupe similar to one they subsequently owned which is currently in the possession of an uncle.

Of course the gathering was not limited to already complete and fully functioning automobiles. There were also plenty of pieces that just might be the key to another complete and fully functional Ford.

Doo Dah with a Capital Boom

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I’ve made multiple starts on detailing how plans for this outing came together, but they became twisted so quickly that I’m just going to tell what I did with no attempt to explain why. I left home fairly late in the morning on Tuesday, and leisurely drove US-42 and US-40 to Columbus, Ohio, where I checked into my motel near downtown. The first floor was not an option, and when asked “high or low”, I picked high. I would regret that.

I relaxed a bit, then made my way to the banks of the Scioto River just over half a mile away. Columbus celebrates Independence Day with an event called Red, White, & Boom. It includes a street festival, a parade, and fireworks and is apparently never held on July 4th. This year it was on the 3rd. With the temperature in the 90s, it didn’t take a lot of street festival to meet my needs. I found a couple feet of unoccupied curb in the shade and spent some quality time there with an $8 Icee.

As parade time approached, I moved up to the route and found another shady spot to hang out in until a police car and marching band approached. Ford was an event sponsor, and a group of Mustangs made up one of the early parade entries. I don’t really know what the passengers had done do gain their seats, but the line of red, white, and blue convertibles was pretty cool.

I do know what the passenger in this Jeep did. He lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor. Other veterans followed in other vehicles from Motts Military Museum.There was a half dozen or so of these three wheelers in the parade, but this one looked almost custom made for it. I once watched an Independence Day parade in our nation’s capital and remember being impressed with the diverse groups participating. This parade in my state’s capital didn’t have quite as much diversity, but there was certainly a respectable amount including a sizable group of American Sikhs and a yellow dressed Falun Gong group with a lady in a lotus.

When the parade ended, I had a tough decision to make. Just watching people march in 90 degree heat can make an old guy tired. There were virtually no restaurants or other businesses open in the immediate area, and I did not look forward to another three and a half hours waiting on a curb for the fireworks; Nor did I really want to make what was now a one mile walk back to my motel. But I decided that the walk to the motel was the lesser of the two evils and set out in that direction. Near the halfway mark, I found Elevator Brewing open and ducked in for a couple beers and dinner. Sufficiently fueled and cooled, I proceeded to the motel. Remember that game of high/low I’d played earlier? The regret came when fellows sitting in the lobby informed me that the elevators were not working. Climbing to the sixth floor was not what I needed but it was what was required.

I napped for an hour or so then headed out for the fireworks. I wasn’t initially certain that I would walk all the way back to the river but in the end I did exactly that. In front of me, the arches of the Broad Street Bridge were outlined in LEDs (I assume) that switched between red, white, and blue. Above me, LEDs on LeVeque Tower did the same thing.

The Red, White, and Boom website proclaims this “Ohio’s largest Fireworks display” and it’s a dandy. 48,750 pounds of fireworks, they say; Roughly twenty-five minutes long. As seen in this articles’s opening picture, the rockets were launched from the other side of the river on the other side of the Broad Street Bridge and on the near side of the Rich Street Bridge. I suppose people watching from between the bridges had a somewhat better view but I was more than happy with mine.

Before the echoes of the last boom completely faded, people were moving out of the viewing area. Although things were initially quite congested, it was never stifling and motion never really stopped. In fact, the crowd spread out on reaching the streets and I was able to take the first picture. The second picture was taken from my motel room. It seems the main staging area for event buses was about a block away.

I went to Tuesday’s parade because I was there. Ditto the fireworks. This, the 35th Annual Doo Dah Parade, is why I was there. I don’t know who the lady in the lead golf cart was but she was probably about as close to a parade official as I actually saw. She used her bullhorn to thank everyone for coming and offered thoughts and prayers for any trauma caused by what we were about to witness. She was immediately followed by The END. Fortunately, there were lots of stragglers.

I’d met young Groucho earlier in the staging area. He initiated the conversation because I was wearing an American Sign Museum shirt. I did my best to encourage a future visit, and think I did OK. The CHILL! guy was just too friendly to ignore.

Captain Ohio rides a Honda. I believe Honda was the only motorcycle manufactured in Ohio in modern times, but I can’t say whether this particular specimen is local built. The factory in Marysville operated from 1979 to 2005. I also “met” these three art cars in the staging area. The first one may have been here in 2010, or maybe its owner just knows someone who was. A friend of mine sells Route 66 Wine Corks, and often calls his van the Cork Wagon. I earlier shared this staging area photo to get him thinking about an upgrade. The car in the last picture also has some corks but its best feature, in my opinion, is its legs.

I’ve nothing in particular to say about what’s in these last four photos. They’re entries that caught my eye for some reason and there’s plenty more where they came from. My first Doo Dah was certainly a good one. I couldn’t help but think of Cincinnati’s Northside Parade which is also held on the 4th of July and which I’ve attended once. The Cincinnati parade is a little older (1970 vs. 1984), a little more rambunctious (no skateboard or bicycle stunts in the Doo Dah), and a little less political (Northside actually has entries that aren’t political at all). There’s no nudity in either but Doo Dah finds it necessary to specify that in the rules and it got this close. Spectators at both can be part of the show. At the Doo Dah, I spotted this guy across the street who may or may not have just burned his NFL season tickets out of concern for disrespecting the flag.