Donna's Blog

This entry is dated August 14, but it should be entered now  just because I want it to be.

Well, family, I hope you all are home safe and sound. WE enjoyed seeing all of you at the wonderful 50th anniversary party for P&T. What an event.
What a surprise the “new” house was for all of us. Pat and Tom, you amazed us all with your ability to keep a secret. What’s more amazing is that you survived the reconstruction during your treatments. WOW.

We had a pleasant trip home, 10 1/2 hours including a stop at the Dairy Queen here in town. It is a tradition after a long drive. Then the fun started.

As we entered Shaker Hts. we noticed there were several yards with downed tree limbs or fallen trees. As we drove closer to home, there were more downed limbs and trees. In fact, we passed two streets that were barricaded off because most of the 90-year-old oaks on the street were badly damaged and the streets were blocked. This was making me a bit nervous. My partner kept saying, “there won’t be any damage in our neighborhood.”

Wrong again! The closer to home we got, the more damage. On our street the tree lawns (the area between the sidewalks and the street) were piled high with branches. Further up the street there was a tree lying across it, blocking all traffic. We learned that there had been one closer to home but someone with a chain saw cut it so it could be pulled aside by the
neighbors. Up the street a giant sycamore uprooted and landed on the front
of its house. This scenario was repeated all over the city.

OK, we saw all that. When we came in the house, of course, all the clocks were off. We had no electricity. It went off at 3:15pm Monday. It came back on at 5:40 am Wednesday. But, George got a generator for Christmas last year. Yippee! Oh wait, it is in the garage which has an electric door opener. He had to climb through the window to open the door and get the generator. Then he had to read the directions, go out and buy gas, figure out what the directions meant, and get that baby started. Bottom line, the refrigerators and freezer were put on life support and we lost no food.
That was the good news.

In all it was a minor inconvenience, we lost no branches or trees even though I was sure that one of our trees would be on the neighbor’s patio.

Today I’m almost over the cold I developed on our way home and now G is catching it. Time to rest. He installed another window yesterday.

First thing I see when I opened the dashboard page of my new blog is a warning about changing my password which I had just done. Am I already in trouble? Anybody?

Well, Shaker Hts. sure did get a lot of publicity from that little visit.  We drove about a mile north to Shaker Blvd to see the motorcade go by.  After we waited in the Rapid Transit shelter for 20 minutes out of the rain, George went and talked to the cop who was blocking the cross streets.  He  told us that we had just missed the motorcade as we pulled up. Waited for nothing.

We came home, watched the event live on TV, and Priscilla called from the Indianapolis airport to say that David spotted our next-door neighbor in the audience.  Not only was he in the audience, his wife, son and daughter-in-law were all seated right behind the podium and thus were on screen almost as much as the president was.  That was fun.

When the pres announced “one more question” we left again for the rapid transit shelter to see the motorcade go back the other way.  There were about 50 people standing around waiting with us.  We waited almost 45 minutes for the 32-vehicle “parade” to go by.  THE helicopter was flying overhead for about 20 minutes while we waited.  Got a photo this time.

The neighbors said they had 16 messages on their answering machine when they got home.  They didn’t realize how much camera time they got.

By the school, the trucks with snowplows were still blocking the streets.  The protesters (anti-abortion, anti-healthcare, anti Obama) were gone and their signs were filling the corner trashcans.

It was a fun diversion for this old retired couple, and I did get to see the motorcade with all its lights, limos, and legislators.  Glad I didn’t have anything planned for today.

Until the next excitement happens in Shaker Heights, this is your Nosey Neighbor signing off.

This is your on site reporter with the latest.  It is 11:45am and HE is due in the neighborhood at 2:00pm.  We just took a drive to the school because I don’t walk in the rain and it is really raining.  First sight: A very clean
service department dumptruck WITH SNOWPLOW attached, parked crosswise on the first intersection near the school.   (Aldersyde and Onaway for those keeping score)  We couldn’t go past the entrance to the parking lot, the street was cordoned off by orange barrels and barricades.  Many police and police cars every direction.

We took a left away from the school, then a right and that street was blocked off.  Turned around, went further north, then east again to Lee Rd. where the motorcade will travel.  The side streets were all barricaded. This is two hours before he is to arrive.

The interesting thing really is the number of people who are already standing beside the streets marking their place for the “parade” to come. Our street is already parked about half-way down.  The next street closer to
the school is parked full.  I may have to go sit on a friend’s porch to watch all this excitement.  More later when the fun really begins.

Maybe you didn’t know that I Love watching the secret service in action. They fascinate me.  Thus, here’s today’s update on the neighborhood.  Boy, do I feel safe!

For two miles on my way home (Coventry) there were no parking signs on every tree and light pole on both sides of the street.  This pattern continued east on Shaker Blvd. about another mile, then south on Lee Road (3/4 mile) as far as Van Aken.  Aldersyde, the road to the high school of course was full of signs as well.

At the school this evening are all three local TV channels, and a satellite dish the size of my dining room.  The dead elm tree that has bothered me for the last 18 months was taken down.  (Must make Shaker look good.)  There are school busses blocking the entrances to the school parking lots, bumper to bumper.  I wish I knew when HE was coming, morning or afternoon.

These no parking streets are main roads in Shaker from the Cleveland Clinic where he will be before he comes here.  It should be very interesting whenever it is.  If they are expecting flag waving people to line the streets on his route, where will they park?  For that matter, where will the people who will be attending this event park?  Most interesting to me.  Hope you aren’t too bored.

More tomorrow.

Today at lunch time there were two brightly painted orangish/red helicopters flying over our area.  Round and round they went, we couldn’t figure out what they were doing.  Looking through the binoculars I determined they were not news helicopters nor were they life flight.  They obviously had search lights attached as well as what looked like cameras.  Round and round they flew, for nearly an hour, but within a half-mile circle. The noise was deafening.  Suddenly they were gone.  What the heck?

The mystery was solved on the evening news.  The President is coming to Shaker Hts. High School Thursday to convince the residents of NE Ohio that his health care plan should be supported by all.  The high school is 1/4 mile from our house.  Traffic should be interesting.  Security on our street should be interesting too. We’ll have to pay attention…

WOW, it was the secret service flying overhead.  Had I known that, I’d have waved at them.

A three-month wait for an appointment with the dentist?  That’s ridiculous!  I’m changing dentists.

OK, I said it, I meant it, but how do I do it?   I asked around and decided to try my daughter-in-law’s recommendation for a woman dentist, Dr. Arndt.

Dr. Arndt shares an office with another dentist whose name seemed familiar to me but the connection remained elusive.  As I endured the poking, scraping intrusion of the hygienist in my mouth, the answer poked itself into my consciousness.

I asked the hygienist to ask the dentist to come into her cubicle because I wanted to ask him two questions.  He did; I did.

Question #1:  Do you know Jerry Walker?

Answer: Oh, yeah, I’ve known Jerry for years.  He’s quite a guy. Great person.  Just a minute…He left the room then came back with the photo of Jerry and his giant fish that he caught in Mexico.  Turns out the dentist was on that trip with Jerry.  I’ve got the answer to why he’s familiar.

Question #2:  Did you ever have a dog named Zorro?

Answer:  Yes we did, a long time a-g-o…..Are you the woman who took Zorro when we had to find him a new home?

I am.

“Wait ‘till my wife finds that out. She’ll be amazed.”

Then Dr. Arndt came in and said, “I understand you’re the woman who took Zorro when we had to find him a home.”

OK, now it all makes sense.  Dr Arndt and Dr. Sherbauer are married.  Obsidian was their dog not just his. We got our great dog from my current dentist.  “The world goes round and round.”