more Grobles voting

After dim sum this last sunday, Jimmy and Pat exercised their franchise. I hung around the parking lot while they made their way through the line. It was cold and rainy and it didn't matter. People came as couples, in small groups, and one at a time. The line never seemed to get shorter. Whenever the lines slacked off, an entire church congregation would show up. You could feel the joy in the air. I even spotted a couple of Mccain supporters hiding their shirts. Man, for a second or two, I thought about how much fun it would be to point them out. But then, as always, I rememberd that Pat's not licensed to practice in Ohio.

we still have flowers

I was taking my daily weed pulling sweep around the yard when I spotted a day lily still blooming. Any day now we're going to have our first frost, all the flowers will be gone and Pat'll want the furnace on. It's nice to see the last of the flowers. The mums are a real surprise. We havn't had any luck with them till this year.

Places to go

A couple weeks ago the mother-in-law made her fall visit to Ohio. Her visits offer us an oportunity to explore Ohio. This trip, we visited Hale Farm and the Holden Arboretum. Hale's Farm is sort of like New Salem in Illinois, but without the president. We do have Garfield at Lakeview cemetary and McKinley in Canton. I think Harding's somewhere near Warren or some place, but those are trips for later.

Both of these places have wonderful flowers and plants. The tall viney plant is proof of civilization, hops.

dinner on Route 66

It took moving away from Chicago to make Pat and I realize how many great places we never dined at. Dell Rhea's is one of those places. It sits on the mother road, even if it looks like it's in the middle of an industrial park. The insides of the place look like 1960. The interior brick has been painted over, probably to cover all the cigarette smoke stains.The waitresses call you sweety and can tell you're not a regular. It's the kind of restaurant that Harold and Florence took me to as a kid. The chicken is great.

Mike, Sharon and Fiona Groble

helping sarah move

Pat and I rented a truck, filled it up with all the stuff Sarah still had at our house, and drove to Chicago. I know the theme song from the Beverly Hillbillies is rattling around your head. Well, watch the debate. It'll distract you.
Driving to Chicago reminded me of all the things I miss about driving for a living. Things like wind noise, rattles that are purposly built into the truck, no XM radio, and especially no POTUS 08. What I really miss was the radio wasteland western Ohio and all of Indiana is.
Our Sarah and her best friend Beth moved into their first apartment. It is a really nice third floor walk up. They had so much stuff that they'll be unpacking for weeks.

Beth and Sarah

Sarah and Beth

Beth's boyfriend, Beth, Sarah, Beth's brother-in-law, and Beth's brother.

Friends and relatives are great for moving.

vote early

Now, if I could only figure out a way to vote often. I can't say enough good things about the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. The parking lot was given over to voters. There were signs and people every five feet directing me to the right tables. There were over 300 polling booths to choose from. Everyone was very helpful and made my trip a great adventure. I even got a real old fashioned paper ballot to mark.