What is it about cemeteries?

I'm fascinated with cemeteries. I'm not sure when or even where the fascination began, but there is just something about the serenity, the quietness, the history of walking through a cemetery.

During a recent visit with my good friend Greg Slipher, the subject of cemeteries came up (not sure how that came about either) and Greg shared with me that there is a "Colored Cemetery" in Boone County, near Thorntown, Indiana. It's actually located on 825W, north of State Route 47 in Sugar Creek Township.

There are only a couple tombstones remaining. They're weathered and unreadable, but still they mark where someone, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter is buried.

From records I found online there are twenty-seven graves. Elisha Derrick, a Civil War Veteran is buried there. The youngest person buried in the Colored Cemetery is Maud Smith, age 3 who died in 1906. The oldest person buried there is Matilda Derrickson, age 91. She died in 1906. The last person buried there, Thomas Rule in 1914.

I have other cemeteries I'll be sharing. What about you. Have you visited a cemetery recently? For what reason?

I don't dog-ear books

You probably didn't know that about me. But it's true. I love to read, but I will not dog-ear pages, that's what bookmarks are for.

Speaking of bookmarks - Several years ago I was covering an event in Chicago and stayed at the Trump Hotel. What stands out about this particular trip wasn't the conference I was attending, it was what happened in my hotel room. WAIT! That didn't quite come out the way I had intended. Okay, let's try this again. First of all, it's not unusual for me to have a book with me when I travel. After getting my work done for the day I like to sit back and get lost in a good book, which I did in the Trump Hotel. I put the book on the night stand and went back to the conference the next day. When I got back to the room, I picked up my book and there it was...

The Trump Hotel had replaced my bookmark with their own. Now that's some pretty creative marketing.

Something else I won't do. I will not highlight passages or write in the margins. But, that's just me.

This one will drive some people nuts. I won't break the binding.

A friend borrowed one of my books and called me to ask how I could read a book without breaking the binding. Honestly, I find it quite easy. Evidently it's not for everyone. He was so afraid of breaking the binding on my book, he ended up going out and buying his own copy.

Wanna drive me really nuts? Don't answer that. Mutilated covers, geez Louise, how does that even happen? Okay, okay, the dog chewed it, the 2 year old grabbed it off the nightstand. You'll find a few books with mutilated covers on my bookshelf, most I found in a box of my dad's books. I've forgiven him.

That's probably more than you wanted to know about my book reading habits. What about you, any book reading habits you'd like to share?

In dartball - there are good days and....

I hadn't played dartball since junior high, that is until last year. Shortly after joining St. John's Lutheran Church at Dola, Ohio I read in the church bulletin they were having dartball practice. Well...that's all it took. I went to practice and found out that by just showing up I was on the team (Obviously they weren't watching me throw).

Many of the church's we played when I was just a kid at St. Paul's Lutheran Church are still playing dartball. Teams from Jenera, Upper Sandusky and Findlay are still in the league. And some of the players have been playing dartball 60+ years. Amazing!! But, what's refreshing is the fact that there are also a number of junior high and high school kids playing.

This past weekend the league held their annual 4-man tournament. Teams are selected based on your batting average. Phil, the team captain had an average of .455, that compared to my average of .133. I know pretty pathetic, right. Well, we won the first two games, thanks to teammates Phil, Rachel and Tom. We lost the next two, which ended our day. I didn't get my first hit until the 4th game. For the day I was 1 for 20. Phil on the other hand batted .619 for the day. Just like in the majors, one or two hits could have made a big difference in my batting average and the tournament outcome. There are good days and then there are bad days in dartball. For me, the 4-man tournament was a BAD day.

A New Year, A New Beginning

Welp! Let's see if we can get this old blog started again.

 


Wow! talk about a sound that brings back memories. As a kid growing up on State Route 103 near Jenera, Ohio, there were many mornings, especially in the spring of the year, brother Den and I would hear the sound of that pony motor begin to whine and then the distinctive sound of the John Deere two cylinder.

I took the photo of this John Deere 70 Diesel at the Indiana State Fair a number of years ago.

And with that, it's time to begin the New Year, with a New Beginning. "Seeing Life From A Bucket" is up and running again.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

On Mother's Day

This will be my first Mother's Day since mom passed away on January 12, 2014.

It's a different feeling.

It was different not going to the store to pick out a "Mother's Day" card.

It's different knowing that I won't be calling her to wish her "Happy Mother's Day."

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to celebrate "Mother's Day," because I will, in my own way.

     (Mom and I dancing at Megan and Seth's wedding)