Whatevet Hits The Spot

What a great place!

I love small town mom and pop eateries. And this one has always rated near the top of my favorites list. The Spot in downtown Sidney, Ohio is the name of the joint. It appears to have been at one time a drive in. The canopy and ordering menus are still there, but I didn't take the time to see if they were still being used ala Sonic.

Need a great hamburger? They've got it. How about homemade Chilli? They've got that too. Great homemade pies. And the secret to my heart, fried breaded mushrooms.

The prices are modest, the portions large and the atmosphere is doo wop.

Next time you're traveling along I-75 north of Dayton, Ohio, stop in and try out The Spot.

Benchwarmers

This is a redux of an earlier post from August.

I am fascinated with the phenomenon that separates highly successful people and the bench warmers in life.

I saw that quote on another blog earlier today. I too have had the same question running through my mind for the last year or so. I even sort of touched on it when I added this entry to the blog back in July.

I agree there is a phenomenon that happens. What I can't find is the key that allows for it to happen. For those of us who don't have the natural instinct, can it be learned? Where do you find it? How can one tap into it and make it a useful tool rather than an unknown phenom.

The quote was written by a person who has the ability to pick up the tool and use it. Yes, I'm sure they cultivate it. Yes, I'm sure that there is hard work involved. Yes, well you get my drift.

I cultivate many good characteristics in my life. I work hard. Yet I've never experienced the phenomena. The Guiding Light has never came down and touched me or illuminated the way.

There's another element that falls into all of this. Those who have experienced the phenomena seem to hold those who don't in a second class citizen status. Look at the openning sentence. It's sucessful people vs benchwarmers. Think about what they are saying. Or more importantly, how it appears to have been said.

Those lowly Benchwarmers are the people who turn out faithfully everyday and execute something meaningful. In sports, they provide the role of scout team. In business, they do the work that assembles, provides quality control, ships or greets. Many are not slackers and often put in 120% of the days requirements. They take pride in their contributions. They put out a good quality product.

But they are missing one element in life. The Phenomena.

For those of you who have found or were gifted with the Phenomena, share with us how it is found and better yet, how to cultivate it. I would love to hear from you. Reply to this page or email me @ johnstonteam@gmail.com

Lottery Winners Live in Hell

The Associated Press is reporting that John and Sue Wilson of Hell, Michigan are just a little over $115,000 richer after winning the Michigan Lottery's Fantasy 5 drawing on all things........Wednesday October 31, 2007........Halloween night.

Sue is a teachers aid and John is an electrician. They plan to pay off bills and buy their son a video system. And possibly make a long overdue visit to some relatives in Georgia.

Hell, Michigan is located about 45 miles west of Detroit.

Wikipedia has more information on the town. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan

Do We Have to Say Merry Christmas?

It's about time for the annual angst from the American Family Association about what stores allow or say or use in the advertising. Oh, I forgot. The magic word they will fight so hard over is the word........ Christmas.

Here's the issue. Many retailers now understand that their customer universe has expanded beyond the traditional Judeo-Christian shopper. Out culture is now becoming a larger and larger melting pot. There are now people, as there has always really been, from different cultures and religious perspectives.

There are several holiday celebrations that happen between the last burp of Thankgiving dinner and the last hangover head ache of the New Year. And the list of those celebrations continues to grow. So why shouldn't stores promote the holiday season with seasons greetings since so many holidays and other celebratory days fall in that 40 odd day time period?

To assure they don't offend anyone and are inclusive of all, many retailers have resorted to making their holiday greetings and advertising more related to the season rather than to the specific Christian Holiday.

Many stores suggested that clerks not offer a "Merry Christmas" when ringing a customer through the check out line. But most did not ban a reciprocal response if the customer made first mention. In some cases, I wish I would get a genuine thank you rather than a nonchalant grunt or a mandatory stock phrase.

That's not good enough for the AFA. And of course, talk radio couldn't pass up an opportunity to attack a PC attempt.

I'm not quite sure what the motivating factor of the AFA is. Maybe they should explain it. The comic attached to this writing sort of summarizes my view of the whole thing. It appears that it's more about the fight than the real undrelying cause.

Honestly, the meaning of Christmas was lost long ago when Merry Christmas greetings were in fashion. Commercialism had long outstripped the realization that the promised one was born. So simply saying Merry Christmas isn't going to suddenly make someone crack open the gospels and learn more. It didn't work that way 30 or 40 years ago. It likely won't work with the AFA's annual Merry Christmas dust up.

I'm quite comfortable with making the first offer to have a Merry Christmas by simply saying. And usually I get a big smile back from a very tired store clerk who is probably working two jobs during the holiday season to either pay bills or to earn additional money so their family could have a more bountiful holiday season.

I've always been leery of those who believe we need to impose our faith on others. That to me is what the AFA is attempting to do. Christians seem very eager to impose rather than expose their faith to those who may need it. And a fight for the sake of a fight.

Hey Gordo!

This week Diana and I traveled to Circleville, Ohio to take in the sights and sounds of the Circleville Pumpkin Show. This was the 100th show and all the stops were pulled out.

We parked in Ted Lewis park. Ted Lewis? One of the better know burlesque and vaudeville entertainers, he was known in later years for his smaltzy performances featuring his tattered top hat and tag line "Is Everybody Happy"? Oh, he was also born in Circleville.

We headed down Court Street and found ourselves in the midst of a giant carnival. Food, amusement rides and games of skill and chance. Oh and the previously mentioned food. If it can be made from pumpkin, it was available. Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Burgers, Pumpkin Donuts and Pumpkin Coffee. Ok, I took liberty with the last one, but it wouldn't surprise me if it weren't availalble.

This years largest pumpkin was the largest and heaviest in the history of the show. It weighed in at 1524 lbs. The competion is great to grow the largerst gourd and locals as well as regional contestants take the challenge to grow the largest very seriously.



Others are on display, in many unique shapes and colors.

In Circlevile, the Pumpkin Show is a very "political" event. Political in that you have to be seen at certain events if you travel in certain circles.

I also got to see a person I've always really liked. Cindy Wood worked at the same company I did for a number of years. She worked for me in my department for about 7 or 8 years. Cindy is a native and fixture in Circleville and it was great to see her.

Our trip wouldn't have been complete without stopping at the legendary Lindsey's Bakery to see the large pumpkin pie and buy a dozen warm pumpkin donuts. Take about pumpkin excellence.

Lindey's is not only a must stop for Diana and me. On the walls are pictures of high ranking politicians including 1996 Presidential Candidate Bob Dole and in 2004 Vice President Dick Cheney. There's also a picture of former astronaut and Ohio Senator John Glenn.

It takes several weeks for the bakers at Lindsey's Bakery to prepare this masterpiece. The pie weighs 350 pound and is 5 feet in diameter. In case you might want to duplicate this phenomena you'll need 33 pounds of pie dough, 12 gallons of cooked and mashed pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 11 dozen eggs, 4 pounds of cornstarch, a pound of salt, a pound of pie spices (including the all-essential cinnamon) and 116 pounds of milk and water. When you find an oven big enough to bake the pie, it will take six hours to bake and an additional six hours to cool before serving.

The show wrapped up last night and will be gone for another year. Well at least we can still go to Lindey's to get the donuts.

Things That Make You Go HMMMM.

I attended the Dave Ramsey Business Coach and Wealth Coach events in Cincinnati last month. During the break between the two events, I decided to take a walk to the suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Ohio and Kentucky. The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling, the designer of the Brooklyn bridge. Many say the Cincinnati span was the template for the later constructed and more famous Brooklyn Bridge. The Cincy bridge is a neat piece of history.

As I was walking down the street from the Duke Energy Center to the river, I passed an interesting shop.


The nemisis of Cincinnati, Larry Flint has a Hustler store in downtown Cincy. But it wasn't the adult store that caught my eye.

Well ok. I did see the Hustler sign first.

What did peak my curiosity was the plaque on the building, located just to the left of the bottom left corner of the window. It seems Larry's place is considered a historical site.

Now I wonder if the building's historic designation has anything to do with the current occupant or for some other previous historic reason?

And for those who are wondering the ultimate question, no I didn't go in the store. But I can say the window was loaded with..........

A lot of Cincinnati Bengals merchandise.

The Look of Commerce.....How Times Change

During our trip through southern Central Ohio, we traveled through the village of Lockville in western Fairfield County. Lockville is one of the few places with three locks that were used on the Ohio-Erie canal.

The locks were used to raise and lower barges as they made their way either from Lake Erie to the Ohio River or from the river to the lake.

Ohio's 1000-mile network of navigable canals, were constructed between 1825 and 1847, and provided a system of economical transportation where none had previously existed. The canals opened what was an isolated wildness into an era of commerce and even new riches and wealth. It was easier, quicker and more economical to pull the cargo via horse drawn barges via water rather than try to cover the trip via land. The canals were an important mode of transportation until the trains began arriving about the time of the Civil War. After the war, much of the canal land was operated by private individuals and coporations who sold water for irrigation and manufacturing uses. There were two problems. First, canal traffic continued to dwindle and the private care takers allowed the canals to generally fall into ruin. By 1913, all of the canal had been abandoned for commercial use.

One additional treat at the park was the covered bridge. The Hartman II Bridge is built in Queenpost style in 1888 with a span of 50 feet. It once spanned Raccoon Creek on Wheeling Road in Fairfield County, Ohio. In 1967 the covered bridge was reconstructed across the canal within the Lockville Park, Lockville, OH. Rare triple locks can be seen at the park maintained by The Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission.