With the high school football season right around the corner, I need to see what I can do about getting back into a more regular blogging habit. With that in mind, here's a sampling of what's been going on lately.
• Speaking of high school football, I got to spend some time at Troy Memorial Stadium this past Friday evening. Some past Troy football players got together for a flag football game to benefit a scholarship fund they've set up. I actually watched the game from the stadium's pressbox with a couple of friends who were running the scoreboard. Pretty cool vantage point, although I wouldn't like being isolated from the crowd for a regular game. It was a good time, though, and it definitely whetted my appetite for the upcoming season. The first regular-season game is August 27.
• I'm making a conscious effort to be more active. To that end, I've been spending a fair amount of time lately at various locales in Troy, either walking or running. The bulk of that time has been at Duke Park, which is a place I love and which has a great trail for just that purpose. As much as I enjoy being out there, I'm trying to vary my routine in order to keep myself interested. I'm at the point right now where I actively want to get out and do something each day; I just need to make sure I hang onto that feeling. At some point this coming week I'm going to try to put in some time on the recreational trail that runs along Troy's levee.
• Troy has a very solid bike path/recreational trail; I just wish they would somehow extend it to make it accessible from our neighborhood. I would LOVE to be able to walk or ride my bike whenever I'm just going somewhere in town. Unfortunately, we live on the western edge of the city, and between heavy traffic and lack of pedestrian/bike accommodation, there's really no good way to get into town that doesn't involve being in a car. And that drives me just a little bit crazy.
• Yesterday I picked up Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, just after finishing his Cat's Cradle (which I thought was fantastic). I really enjoy Vonnegut's work - always insightful, and darkly humorous, which is right up my alley - but I haven't read a whole lot of it. That's a little sad on one hand; but, on the other hand, I have quite a bit that I'm looking very much forward to exploring.
Showing posts with label Troy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Troy. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
The Joys of Bygone Days
The ten-year reunion for the Troy High School class of 1995, held this past Saturday, was a smashing, unqualified success.
There was one complaint for the evening, and I'll go ahead and get it out of the way. The reunion was held at the Best Western in Troy, and the air conditioning in the banquet room was broken. It got really hot in there, to the point that I was dripping sweat while eating dinner. Eventually they brought out some fans, and that helped quite a bit, but before that point it was quite uncomfortable. To the hotel's credit, they made up for it by giving two certificates for free stays there to be raffled off during the course of the night, and they also refunded part of the payment to the reunion committee. That money will be put towards future reunions, vague plans for which are already beginning to circulate.
In spite of the heat, I had an outstanding time with my old classmates and friends. I think nearly everyone there had fun, actually. I'm sure there were some who didn't, and those few will likely be absent from future reunions, but I think they were a distinct minority. Even Brandi had a good time, and she was fairly apprehensive beforehand and didn't expect to enjoy herself in a crowd mostly made up of complete strangers. It's amazing what a little alcohol can do.
We got there just slightly after 6:00, when the festivities began. We immediately found our friend Amy, who was on the reunion committee, because I had brought a couple of things to loan to the memorabilia display table. We sat down and hung out with her for a while, along with her husband Doug and a couple of other people they were sitting with. There was a slideshow running, displaying pictures that people had contributed. I didn't get a chance to contribute any, but Amy did, meaning there were plenty of pictures of me sporting my old mullet, generally wearing a tux and striking some goofy pose. Amy, I know you'll be reading this at some point, so let me just take a moment to thank you for that. Remember, for the next reunion, I will contribute photos.
The first person from outside our table to come up and talk to me out of the blue was a girl named Rebecca, a girl I dated once upon a time. We didn't break up well, and didn't talk much after that, so it was a little bizarre that she was the first one to talk to me. Once I had a moment to think about it, though, I was glad she did. It would be dumb to be hung up on whatever it was that happened back in the early days of high school. I actually felt a little silly that it took her coming over to talk to me before I realized that, but it was all for the good. I guess Rebecca later, after drinking quite a bit, said something weird to Brandi, but I wasn't present and so I don't know what that was all about.
Of course, the main reason I was so excited for the reunion was for the chance to see and hang out with some friends I'm still close to but that I don't get a chance to get together with very often due to the physical distance between us. The first, of course, was Amy. Brandi and I see Amy and Doug relatively often, but it was still good to hang out with them. Amy, as I mentioned, was on the reunion committee and was really into it, making her largely responsible for everyone's good time.
Aside from Amy, I was looking forward to seeing Patrick and Jessica. It had been quite some time since I had seen either one of them, despite the fact that I still consider them to be among my closest friends. It was great to see them and chat with them for a while. I got to meet Jessica's fiance Matt for the first time, and he's a really cool guy. Unfortunately, I missed out on saying goodbye to them when Brandi and I adjourned to the hotel bar to escape the heat for a while. Patrick and his wife Sarah left relatively early in the evening, but Brandi and I had an incredibly pleasant lunch with them on Sunday afternoon. I really wish I got to hang out with these people more often. Someday money will be less of an object, and making day/weekend trips to visit them will be possible more frequently. In the meantime, I'll be in the Columbus area for a football game next Friday, and Jessica invited Brandi and me to stop by her place afterwards for a wine-tasting party. Hopefully we'll be able to make it.
Throughout the course of the night at the reunion, I got a chance to chat with several other old friends that I haven't seen in a much longer time, some of them since the day we actually graduated. There was far too much going on to have time to really "catch up" with most of them, but it was still good to get to talk to them for at least a few minutes. I got to spend quite a bit of time with a guy named Winfred, a guy I was pretty good friends with in elementary school but didn't really talk much to through junior high and high school. By the end of the night, Brandi and I had even made a totally new friend, as we closed down the bar talking to a girl named Missy that I don't think I ever talked to back in the day. She was a lot of fun, though, and we saw her safely home at the end of the night.
I went into the reunion expecting to have a decent time but not really knowing what to expect. When the night was over, I can't even express how much fun I had. I only wish that I had been able to talk to more people, that I had taken more photos, and that it wasn't going to be another five years before we do it again. Hopefully by the time the next reunion is in the planning stages Brandi and I will be living closer to Troy so I can be involved. One way or another, though, I'll definitely be there.
There was one complaint for the evening, and I'll go ahead and get it out of the way. The reunion was held at the Best Western in Troy, and the air conditioning in the banquet room was broken. It got really hot in there, to the point that I was dripping sweat while eating dinner. Eventually they brought out some fans, and that helped quite a bit, but before that point it was quite uncomfortable. To the hotel's credit, they made up for it by giving two certificates for free stays there to be raffled off during the course of the night, and they also refunded part of the payment to the reunion committee. That money will be put towards future reunions, vague plans for which are already beginning to circulate.
In spite of the heat, I had an outstanding time with my old classmates and friends. I think nearly everyone there had fun, actually. I'm sure there were some who didn't, and those few will likely be absent from future reunions, but I think they were a distinct minority. Even Brandi had a good time, and she was fairly apprehensive beforehand and didn't expect to enjoy herself in a crowd mostly made up of complete strangers. It's amazing what a little alcohol can do.
We got there just slightly after 6:00, when the festivities began. We immediately found our friend Amy, who was on the reunion committee, because I had brought a couple of things to loan to the memorabilia display table. We sat down and hung out with her for a while, along with her husband Doug and a couple of other people they were sitting with. There was a slideshow running, displaying pictures that people had contributed. I didn't get a chance to contribute any, but Amy did, meaning there were plenty of pictures of me sporting my old mullet, generally wearing a tux and striking some goofy pose. Amy, I know you'll be reading this at some point, so let me just take a moment to thank you for that. Remember, for the next reunion, I will contribute photos.
The first person from outside our table to come up and talk to me out of the blue was a girl named Rebecca, a girl I dated once upon a time. We didn't break up well, and didn't talk much after that, so it was a little bizarre that she was the first one to talk to me. Once I had a moment to think about it, though, I was glad she did. It would be dumb to be hung up on whatever it was that happened back in the early days of high school. I actually felt a little silly that it took her coming over to talk to me before I realized that, but it was all for the good. I guess Rebecca later, after drinking quite a bit, said something weird to Brandi, but I wasn't present and so I don't know what that was all about.
Of course, the main reason I was so excited for the reunion was for the chance to see and hang out with some friends I'm still close to but that I don't get a chance to get together with very often due to the physical distance between us. The first, of course, was Amy. Brandi and I see Amy and Doug relatively often, but it was still good to hang out with them. Amy, as I mentioned, was on the reunion committee and was really into it, making her largely responsible for everyone's good time.
Aside from Amy, I was looking forward to seeing Patrick and Jessica. It had been quite some time since I had seen either one of them, despite the fact that I still consider them to be among my closest friends. It was great to see them and chat with them for a while. I got to meet Jessica's fiance Matt for the first time, and he's a really cool guy. Unfortunately, I missed out on saying goodbye to them when Brandi and I adjourned to the hotel bar to escape the heat for a while. Patrick and his wife Sarah left relatively early in the evening, but Brandi and I had an incredibly pleasant lunch with them on Sunday afternoon. I really wish I got to hang out with these people more often. Someday money will be less of an object, and making day/weekend trips to visit them will be possible more frequently. In the meantime, I'll be in the Columbus area for a football game next Friday, and Jessica invited Brandi and me to stop by her place afterwards for a wine-tasting party. Hopefully we'll be able to make it.
Throughout the course of the night at the reunion, I got a chance to chat with several other old friends that I haven't seen in a much longer time, some of them since the day we actually graduated. There was far too much going on to have time to really "catch up" with most of them, but it was still good to get to talk to them for at least a few minutes. I got to spend quite a bit of time with a guy named Winfred, a guy I was pretty good friends with in elementary school but didn't really talk much to through junior high and high school. By the end of the night, Brandi and I had even made a totally new friend, as we closed down the bar talking to a girl named Missy that I don't think I ever talked to back in the day. She was a lot of fun, though, and we saw her safely home at the end of the night.
I went into the reunion expecting to have a decent time but not really knowing what to expect. When the night was over, I can't even express how much fun I had. I only wish that I had been able to talk to more people, that I had taken more photos, and that it wasn't going to be another five years before we do it again. Hopefully by the time the next reunion is in the planning stages Brandi and I will be living closer to Troy so I can be involved. One way or another, though, I'll definitely be there.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Oh Troy High, Live On Forever
I was originally planning for today's blog entry to be a rant about my job, but then something happened that made it impossible for me to bring my irritation back to the forefront of my mind. So I'll leave that post for another day. I'm sure it'll be better after it marinates a little longer.
What happened is that I got an e-mail from someone I haven't seen in nearly ten years; someone I've barely thought about in all that time, except for extremely occasional flashes when my eyes happened to pass across his picture while I was scanning through an old yearbook or something. The person in question was a member of my graduating class in high school, and the e-mail was in regards to our upcoming 10-year reunion.
The funny thing about this is the timing. I've actually been thinking about the reunion in the past couple of days. I checked the school district's website just a day or two ago to see if they had any information posted. They had none--they actually had a small blurb stating they had no reunion info unless they were specifically contacted with it. I saw that earlier this week, and today I get this e-mail. Now there's a small bit of info on the website about our particular class: the Troy High School class of 1995.
The e-mail I received contained no specific information about the reunion itself. Rather, it was just a statement of the intent to have a reunion, and a request for e-mail addresses for other members of the class. I scanned the list to see who was listed and who wasn't, and I was able to provide two additional names.
Of course, in most cases the addresses were listed without names, and sometimes it was difficult or impossible to figure out which person the address might belong to. Still, it was interesting to scan down the list, calling up each person's name and face in my mind, looking at the address to see if it provided any clues to where they're at today, or what they're doing. Probably an exercise in futility, but fun nonetheless.
My parents don't go to their reunions. My mom grew up in a different state, so it would be pretty difficult for her to do so. My dad, on the other hand, is a fellow graduate of Troy High School, and my parents still live in Troy. A lot of reunions are held in the fall, during football season, and it would be easy enough for Dad to drive over and join in. I'm sure he has his reasons for staying away, but I myself have none. I'll definitely be attending this reunion, and most likely any we have in the future. In fact, I find myself looking forward to it quite a bit.
High school is not an easy time for most people, and I'll include myself in that. I don't think I had it particularly hard, especially compared to what a lot of other people went through. Still, when I look back on those days, which were filled with such uncertainty and a painful kind of naivete on my part, I have to say that it certainly could have been easier. Even so, I look back at my high school days with a great deal of fondness. Everything was charged with emotion, and that absolute saturation has been lost in the mundane details of everyday living, or "adulthood." Granted, that inherent emotion was the cause for most of the confusion that abounded in those days, but to exist on such unadulterated feeling is something that can never be recaptured.
I'm very interested to see everyone again; to see what they look like now, and what they're doing. Most of all, I'm interested to see how things go when we get together again. I'm a people-watcher anyway, and this will be great because I know these people, all of them, on a certain fundamental level at least, and because I'll be an active participant myself.
I know there will be people there I don't recognize at first, just as I know there will be people who won't recognize me (I've lost the mullet, for one thing). I also know there will be plenty of people who won't show up, for one reason or another. Still, I'm looking forward to getting together with those that do show up, to relive old times and catch up on new ones. I'm looking forward to seeing the new faces of my classmates, my peers, my friends, and celebrating the time and place in our pasts that we all have in common.
Troy High School Alma Mater:
Oh Troy High, live on forever,
Forever and for aye.
Your memory sweet, we'll oft repeat
The joys of bygone days.
So come all and join the chorus,
And swell the glad refrain.
We'll shout and cry
T-R-O-Y.
We'll ever praise thy name.
(A little goofy, I know, but it had to be done.)
What happened is that I got an e-mail from someone I haven't seen in nearly ten years; someone I've barely thought about in all that time, except for extremely occasional flashes when my eyes happened to pass across his picture while I was scanning through an old yearbook or something. The person in question was a member of my graduating class in high school, and the e-mail was in regards to our upcoming 10-year reunion.
The funny thing about this is the timing. I've actually been thinking about the reunion in the past couple of days. I checked the school district's website just a day or two ago to see if they had any information posted. They had none--they actually had a small blurb stating they had no reunion info unless they were specifically contacted with it. I saw that earlier this week, and today I get this e-mail. Now there's a small bit of info on the website about our particular class: the Troy High School class of 1995.
The e-mail I received contained no specific information about the reunion itself. Rather, it was just a statement of the intent to have a reunion, and a request for e-mail addresses for other members of the class. I scanned the list to see who was listed and who wasn't, and I was able to provide two additional names.
Of course, in most cases the addresses were listed without names, and sometimes it was difficult or impossible to figure out which person the address might belong to. Still, it was interesting to scan down the list, calling up each person's name and face in my mind, looking at the address to see if it provided any clues to where they're at today, or what they're doing. Probably an exercise in futility, but fun nonetheless.
My parents don't go to their reunions. My mom grew up in a different state, so it would be pretty difficult for her to do so. My dad, on the other hand, is a fellow graduate of Troy High School, and my parents still live in Troy. A lot of reunions are held in the fall, during football season, and it would be easy enough for Dad to drive over and join in. I'm sure he has his reasons for staying away, but I myself have none. I'll definitely be attending this reunion, and most likely any we have in the future. In fact, I find myself looking forward to it quite a bit.
High school is not an easy time for most people, and I'll include myself in that. I don't think I had it particularly hard, especially compared to what a lot of other people went through. Still, when I look back on those days, which were filled with such uncertainty and a painful kind of naivete on my part, I have to say that it certainly could have been easier. Even so, I look back at my high school days with a great deal of fondness. Everything was charged with emotion, and that absolute saturation has been lost in the mundane details of everyday living, or "adulthood." Granted, that inherent emotion was the cause for most of the confusion that abounded in those days, but to exist on such unadulterated feeling is something that can never be recaptured.
I'm very interested to see everyone again; to see what they look like now, and what they're doing. Most of all, I'm interested to see how things go when we get together again. I'm a people-watcher anyway, and this will be great because I know these people, all of them, on a certain fundamental level at least, and because I'll be an active participant myself.
I know there will be people there I don't recognize at first, just as I know there will be people who won't recognize me (I've lost the mullet, for one thing). I also know there will be plenty of people who won't show up, for one reason or another. Still, I'm looking forward to getting together with those that do show up, to relive old times and catch up on new ones. I'm looking forward to seeing the new faces of my classmates, my peers, my friends, and celebrating the time and place in our pasts that we all have in common.
Troy High School Alma Mater:
Oh Troy High, live on forever,
Forever and for aye.
Your memory sweet, we'll oft repeat
The joys of bygone days.
So come all and join the chorus,
And swell the glad refrain.
We'll shout and cry
T-R-O-Y.
We'll ever praise thy name.
(A little goofy, I know, but it had to be done.)
Friday, June 04, 2004
Off the Top of My Head
I think I've decided to kill the concept of having a regular (if varied) title for an entry of random notes. Since I've never had any actual quotes in these entries, and since coming up with a clever rhyme for the title often took longer than writing the actual text, I thought it was time for a name change. I've got plenty of random things on my mind today.
I'm the only one in the office right now. I don't think that's ever happened before. Everyone else is on lunch break. I took my break an hour early today and the two days previous so someone would be here to answer phones and such. Normally our office manager takes a different lunch break than everyone else so that she can do it. However, since Wednesday of this week she's been spending her days at our company president's house, helping his fiancée clean it up after it was trashed by his ex-wife. Sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it? It also sounds to me like questionable business practice, but what do I know?
Coming in and out of the building over the past several days, I've noticed that it smells like monkeypiss outside. Right outside our main office door, in fact. I'm not sure what's up with that, but I hope it manages to go away over the weekend.
The upcoming weekend is unfortunately not a long one, as last weekend was, but it should definitely be a good one. Brandi and I are going to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this evening--the latest showing (10:10 p.m.) so as to hopefully minimize the number of irritating children at the same show. Tomorrow we're driving down to Troy to spend the night at my parents' house. This weekend is the world-famous Troy Strawberry Festival, which I thought would be fun for us. I haven't been in Troy for a while, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Okay, it's probably a stretch to say that the Strawberry Festival is "world famous," but it is fairly well known at least around the U.S. It brings in a ton of people. I never really cared about the Festival one way or another while I actually lived in Troy (it's not that cool, and it creates major traffic problems), but now that I've been away for a while, I'm actually kind of excited about it. Mostly it's fun to walk around the levee and pick out familiar faces. Anyone in the Dayton area should definitely check it out, though. If nothing else, get some of the strawberry doughnuts. They're probably the most popular item, and they're awesome. Proceeds benefit the THS Marching Band. I was not in the band, but I helped make the doughnuts for the Festival before my senior year at THS.
In case anyone has missed it, I love my hometown. I want to be famous someday just so I can give Troy a plug at every opportunity.
I have 128 pages remaining in Wolves of the Calla, which I need to finish by Tuesday so I can be ready to jump right into Song of Susannah. I should be able to polish off those pages with no problem. I'm also getting close to the end of The Godfather, so I'll soon be needing another lunchtime book. I haven't yet decided what that's going to be.
I'm totally stoked about the continued good play of the Cincinnati Reds. They were off yesterday after completing a three-game sweep of the Marlins in Florida. Sean Casey is just pounding everything he sees, and Barry Larkin is doing a lot better than expected. Ken Griffey Jr.'s average is still a little low, but he's definitely got his home run stroke, and his other numbers will catch up. Adam Dunn is coming back around, too, after starting strong and then slumping a bit. The pitching isn't great, but it's been good enough. I think this team might just be able to stick around in the NL Central race. Hopefully the front office staff will make some deals to get some pitching help (and maybe a third baseman) if the team is still doing well toward the end of this month.
Speaking of baseball...let me start by saying that I am not in favor of taking away fan voting for the All-Star Game, or restricting it in any way. However, sometimes you just have to wonder how so many people can be so misguided. Boston's Nomar Garciaparra is currently the leading vote-getter for American League shortstop, despite the fact that he hasn't played a game all season. Not one! He's been injured. Also, what about Sean Casey being fifth for National League 1st basemen? Has anyone noticed that he's leading the league in hitting? I can't argue with a vote for Albert Pujols, who's leading the voting right now, but there's no way there should be three guys between him and Casey. Hopefully all of this will straighten itself out between now and when the game is played. I know I haven't cast my own ballot yet, so that will help.
Incidentally, Garciaparra played in Toledo last night, and will do so again tonight and tomorrow. He's on an injury rehab assignment with Boston's Triple A team, which is in town to play the Mud Hens. I thought about going out to the game last night--how often do you get to see a future Hall of Famer for just eight bucks?--but ultimately decided against it. I will be going to a Hens game later this month, though, when they host the Louisville River Bats, which is the Triple A affiliate of the Reds.
I often listen to ESPN Radio (1470 AM in Toledo) when I'm in the car, and they frequently play perhaps the most annoying radio commercial I've heard. It's a commercial for OnStar in which they play clips from an actual call, featuring what sounds like an old lady wailing in distress after an accident. I'm sure there are better clips they could have chosen.
On the other hand, there's one commercial in particular that I happen to like, and I'm not sure why. It's advertising the nationwide crackdown on seatbelt laws, the "Click It or Ticket" campaign. Anyway, it starts off with a guy saying "Everybody knows that safety belts save lives, blah blah blah." For some reason, it cracks me up when he says "blah blah blah."
Yesterday while driving, I saw a car with the license plate FA74SS. From a distance, or just at a glance, that looks a hell of a lot like "FATASS." I hope I'm not the only one who sees that.
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Old Haunts and New
Being around a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time yesterday at Grandma's funeral, I started missing Troy quite a bit. Feeling a bit nostalgic anyway, I decided to just cruise around town while I was there, visiting some memories from the past. Here are some of the highlights.
First off, I was part of the funeral procession and went to the cemetery for a brief graveside service. Troy is an interesting place, in that I wouldn't exactly call it a small town (population > 20,000), but it really does have a small-town feel to it. It's a community. Driving through Riverside cemetery, I saw a lot of names I recognized. Not that I knew the people personally, but I recognized the family names, just through growing up in Troy, going to high school there, and keeping up with local news even now that I live elsewhere. I found it pretty interesting. Sometime when I'm home for a weekend, perhaps this spring, I think I'd like to take a walk through the cemetery and just look around at the names on the markers.
The post-funeral lunch gathering was held at a church in Tipp City. That particular town happens to be home to Spring Hill Nurseries, which is where I used to be employed. I decided to drive by and check it out. The garden center was in full swing. The parking lot was full, and the store seemed to be doing a brisk business. They're probably doing a lot of shipping right now, getting bulbs and plants out so people can plant them for this fall. The building where our Merchandising Department was located, though, was not so prosperous. It's vacant and up for sale, and I'd be surprised if it's been used since SHN went out of business. Sad, but not entirely unexpected.
When I came back into Troy, one of the first places I drove past was Troy Memorial Stadium, where the Trojans play on Friday nights during the fall. I never miss an opportunity to visit the stadium when I'm in town. I love Troy football, and the stadium holds lots of good memories for me. It's undergone some significant renovation in the past year, and I'm still getting used to the new look. I started going to Troy games with Rachel when she was in high school and I was in junior high. I haven't missed a Trojan home game since 1991, when I was a freshman in high school. That's where my love of football began. I've taken plenty of friends there with me, and I've gone to plenty of games by myself. I love being there.
Directly across the street from the stadium is Troy High School itself, from which I graduated in 1995. It doesn't seem like I spent only four years there, or that it was over almost nine years ago. I still have a pretty fair number of friends from high school. I have a lot of memories there as well. Not all of them are good, of course, but I would say the vast majority of them are. I know very few people who can say this, but if I was given the opportunity to go back to high school, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Essentially next door to the stadium is Hobart Arena. The THS hockey team plays there now, and it's also where graduation ceremonies are held. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger, as Troy used to be home to a semi-professional hockey team (the Troy Sabres, who later became the Miami Valley Sabres). Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lou would always take Rachel and me to the games. My favorite player was #77, Bernie Chivarelli (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). The games were a blast. The THS hockey coach is Rick Szabo, and he was the Sabres' goalie. I like going to the high school games now when I can. Just being in the arena and experiencing the way sights, sounds, and smells of hockey bring back a lot. The arena, like the stadium, has undergone quite a lot of renovation, but the heart of it is still the same. I'm glad to report that "The Pissing Man" is still there. On top of the arena, above the entryway, there is a small structure that looks, in profile, like a man taking a leak. I can't explain it, but it's there. It was pointed out to me by a classmate on the bus on the way home from junior high one day, and now I can't drive by the arena without looking for it.
In the same neck of the woods is the house where Uncle Clarence, Aunt Lou, and Rachel used to live. I spent a lot of time there as a kid, so I drove by to check it out. I almost didn't recognize it, to be honest. One of the houses next door is now gone. The house itself has been re-sided. The garage behind the house is still blue, though, and the driveway is still lined with stone. I always had a lot of fun there when I was younger. Since I was in the neighborhood, I drove by Grandma's old house as well. It looked the same as it always has, except I'm pretty sure there's a different fence around the yard now.
From there, I drove through Duke Park, where I had my first job, working the concession stand for softball games during the summer after I graduated from high school. That was a decent job, for the most part. My main complaint was just dealing with kids whose parents were too occupied to pay them much mind. Other than that, it was fun. I was outside in the summer, but not out in the sun. I got to watch some softball, and often I knew some of the people playing. I got all the pop, candy, and hot dogs I could handle. Also, the boss didn't mind if I had friends join me, so I often did. I really like being at the park. It's one of my favorite places in Troy.
After that I headed over to Troy's west side, where there are a lot of changes being made. After immersing myself in the past for a while, I wanted to go over there and see some new stuff, some of the progress that's happening. Our local Wal-Mart is becoming a Super Wal-Mart, and I wanted to see the construction and what it was doing to the rest of the plaza. I was dismayed to see that the plaza's bookstore, Little Professor, was no longer there. Otherwise, not much was changed. There are some new apartment buildings going up behind Wal-Mart, so I went that way to check them out, and I discovered that Little Professor had put up their own building and was now housed back there as well. The opportunity to check out a new bookstore was too much for me to pass up, so I went inside. I was immediately faced with a book called Schoolboy Trojans, which seems to pertain to Troy football in the 50s. I picked that up, of course, and I'm excited to read it. I'm sure I'll be writing about it in detail at a later date, once I've finished it.
There was a time, when those apartment buildings were first announced, that I could see myself looking there for housing. While that's still a possibility on some level, I think that by the time I could possibly be ready to move back to Troy, I would be looking for an actual house. And I can't say with any type of certainty that a move to Troy is forthcoming at any point in the future, as I've also grown quite fond of Bowling Green. At this point, though, I have to say that it's a possibility.
First off, I was part of the funeral procession and went to the cemetery for a brief graveside service. Troy is an interesting place, in that I wouldn't exactly call it a small town (population > 20,000), but it really does have a small-town feel to it. It's a community. Driving through Riverside cemetery, I saw a lot of names I recognized. Not that I knew the people personally, but I recognized the family names, just through growing up in Troy, going to high school there, and keeping up with local news even now that I live elsewhere. I found it pretty interesting. Sometime when I'm home for a weekend, perhaps this spring, I think I'd like to take a walk through the cemetery and just look around at the names on the markers.
The post-funeral lunch gathering was held at a church in Tipp City. That particular town happens to be home to Spring Hill Nurseries, which is where I used to be employed. I decided to drive by and check it out. The garden center was in full swing. The parking lot was full, and the store seemed to be doing a brisk business. They're probably doing a lot of shipping right now, getting bulbs and plants out so people can plant them for this fall. The building where our Merchandising Department was located, though, was not so prosperous. It's vacant and up for sale, and I'd be surprised if it's been used since SHN went out of business. Sad, but not entirely unexpected.
When I came back into Troy, one of the first places I drove past was Troy Memorial Stadium, where the Trojans play on Friday nights during the fall. I never miss an opportunity to visit the stadium when I'm in town. I love Troy football, and the stadium holds lots of good memories for me. It's undergone some significant renovation in the past year, and I'm still getting used to the new look. I started going to Troy games with Rachel when she was in high school and I was in junior high. I haven't missed a Trojan home game since 1991, when I was a freshman in high school. That's where my love of football began. I've taken plenty of friends there with me, and I've gone to plenty of games by myself. I love being there.
Directly across the street from the stadium is Troy High School itself, from which I graduated in 1995. It doesn't seem like I spent only four years there, or that it was over almost nine years ago. I still have a pretty fair number of friends from high school. I have a lot of memories there as well. Not all of them are good, of course, but I would say the vast majority of them are. I know very few people who can say this, but if I was given the opportunity to go back to high school, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Essentially next door to the stadium is Hobart Arena. The THS hockey team plays there now, and it's also where graduation ceremonies are held. I spent a lot of time there when I was younger, as Troy used to be home to a semi-professional hockey team (the Troy Sabres, who later became the Miami Valley Sabres). Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lou would always take Rachel and me to the games. My favorite player was #77, Bernie Chivarelli (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). The games were a blast. The THS hockey coach is Rick Szabo, and he was the Sabres' goalie. I like going to the high school games now when I can. Just being in the arena and experiencing the way sights, sounds, and smells of hockey bring back a lot. The arena, like the stadium, has undergone quite a lot of renovation, but the heart of it is still the same. I'm glad to report that "The Pissing Man" is still there. On top of the arena, above the entryway, there is a small structure that looks, in profile, like a man taking a leak. I can't explain it, but it's there. It was pointed out to me by a classmate on the bus on the way home from junior high one day, and now I can't drive by the arena without looking for it.
In the same neck of the woods is the house where Uncle Clarence, Aunt Lou, and Rachel used to live. I spent a lot of time there as a kid, so I drove by to check it out. I almost didn't recognize it, to be honest. One of the houses next door is now gone. The house itself has been re-sided. The garage behind the house is still blue, though, and the driveway is still lined with stone. I always had a lot of fun there when I was younger. Since I was in the neighborhood, I drove by Grandma's old house as well. It looked the same as it always has, except I'm pretty sure there's a different fence around the yard now.
From there, I drove through Duke Park, where I had my first job, working the concession stand for softball games during the summer after I graduated from high school. That was a decent job, for the most part. My main complaint was just dealing with kids whose parents were too occupied to pay them much mind. Other than that, it was fun. I was outside in the summer, but not out in the sun. I got to watch some softball, and often I knew some of the people playing. I got all the pop, candy, and hot dogs I could handle. Also, the boss didn't mind if I had friends join me, so I often did. I really like being at the park. It's one of my favorite places in Troy.
After that I headed over to Troy's west side, where there are a lot of changes being made. After immersing myself in the past for a while, I wanted to go over there and see some new stuff, some of the progress that's happening. Our local Wal-Mart is becoming a Super Wal-Mart, and I wanted to see the construction and what it was doing to the rest of the plaza. I was dismayed to see that the plaza's bookstore, Little Professor, was no longer there. Otherwise, not much was changed. There are some new apartment buildings going up behind Wal-Mart, so I went that way to check them out, and I discovered that Little Professor had put up their own building and was now housed back there as well. The opportunity to check out a new bookstore was too much for me to pass up, so I went inside. I was immediately faced with a book called Schoolboy Trojans, which seems to pertain to Troy football in the 50s. I picked that up, of course, and I'm excited to read it. I'm sure I'll be writing about it in detail at a later date, once I've finished it.
There was a time, when those apartment buildings were first announced, that I could see myself looking there for housing. While that's still a possibility on some level, I think that by the time I could possibly be ready to move back to Troy, I would be looking for an actual house. And I can't say with any type of certainty that a move to Troy is forthcoming at any point in the future, as I've also grown quite fond of Bowling Green. At this point, though, I have to say that it's a possibility.
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