On Monday, Mer and I had “our” Christmas, where we exchanged gifts. I got Mer some clothes and a few books, and she got me the two Batman movies and two outings to Cleveland – one to see an illusionist/hypnotist and one to see an improv/skit comedy group. Those should both be much fun. It was a nice and mellow morning.

Monday was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s, so I wanted to go for a walk. Mer agreed, so we hopped in the car. I had every intention of going down to Peninsula to walk on a part of the Towpath on which Mer had never been, but partway there I decided to go to Brandywine Falls, on a whim.

We had been to Brandywine Fallls before, but we have had a lot of rain of late, so I figured the falls would be impressive. As we pulled up to the parking lot area for the falls, I noticed that the park district had been doing several improvements to the area. In the past, the hike and bike trail had to use the road for about one mile in the Brandywine Falls area, but the park district has made a new extension that connects the hike and bike segments. The path is wide and scenic as it winds through the woods. That made me very happy, as it gives me a new place to run. Also, there was a new, paved parking lot, and new walking paths around the falls area. It was great. I am glad Ohio still invests in the park system.

Mer and I walked down to the observation platform for the falls, and the falls were in good form, with lots of water rushing about. We watched the falls for some time and enjoyed the warmth of the day, along with a whole lot of people out walking their dogs. We then went to the upper observation deck to see the falls, and then I thought we should explore the new hike and bike extension. We walked the whole length of the new section, and we both thought it was very well done. After we got to the end of the new extension, we turned around and walked back to the hiking trail that follows the river. We were a little worried that the water might be high and cold since the footpath forded the river at one point, but I half-jokingly told Mer that maybe the park system had installed a bridge. In fact, they had – a new wood-and-steel walking bridge that is only two or three feet wide, but kept us perfectly warm and dry. Once on the far side of the river, we headed back to the car.

At that point, we still had daylight and sun left, so I decided to try the Towpath Trail section that runs north our of Peninsula. The trail follows the Cuyahoga River fairly closely, there are two locks still standing next to the trail, and there is a long boardwalk through a marshy area, all of which I wanted Mer to see. She was delighted with the walk – it was very pretty and scenic. We did walk back at a brisk pace since we were losing daylight quickly, and things were cooling off rapidly. Still, any walk we can take in December is a great time, so we had a pretty good Boxing Day.

On Christmas Eve, we spent much of the day at home taking care of home-things. In the evening, we headed out to New Baltimore to go to the Christmas Eve service. We actually had parts in the service: we were reading the parts of Mary and Joseph in a historical-fiction recreation of how the birth of Jesus may have gone, in more detail than the Bible gives us.

I have to admit that I was not excited for the service. I was tired, and I wanted a passive role in a quiet service. But we had agreed to help out, and Janet (the pastor’s wife) is a good friend, so I went to do my duty. I’m glad I did. The service was really good – our readings were interspersed with music, both congregational singing and solos or small groups from the stage, and there were Scripture readings as well. It all came together beautifully, and it made me feel a lot better than when I had left for church. Mer and I read our lines fine (no botches), and Mer sang a solo that was very pretty. The service ended with the singing of “Silent Night” by candlelight.

On Sunday, which was Christmas day, we were supposed to go to church in the morning. First, I remembered I needed to run in to work to make a quick e-mail server adjustment because of some changes the e-mail company had made. While I was there, I got pretty ill from something I had eaten the night before, so when I got home, I skipped church, and Mer went by herself.

I made some dessert for a party Mer was going to later in the day, and slept a little. That helped me to feel better, so I headed down to North Canton to Aunt Mary’s place for lunch. Mer and Aunt Mary were pleased to see me, and dinner was on the stove. Aunt Mary had invited a couple of her friends over, so we had a party of five for lunch. It was a later lunch, about 2:00, so after we had eaten, I excused myself, since I was still feeling a bit ill, and I went home. Mer stayed until almost 5:00, and lost to Aunt Mary in a game of Trivial Pursuit.

Mer then went to the Georges’ house, where her best friend from childhood was home for a few days. She got in a good visit over supper, and came home by about 8:00. As such, we did not really get to spend much time together on Christmas Day, so we had agreed to have our Christmas gift-exchange on Monday, which I had off from work.

Last week was a short work week for me – I had Friday off as the observed day for Christmas Eve. Mer’s Christmas Break started Thursday, but she had an in-service teacher day on Wednesday (no students), which had been preceded by exam days, which keep the students occupied. So, happily, Mer did not keep accumulating grading to do.

On Monday, Mer went down to Canton to see Aunt Mary and her parents, and I puttered around home.

On Tuesday, Aunt Mary and Dale and Carlene came up to our place for supper. Mer made a very good lasagna, and I bought some fresh bread from a local natural-food market. We chatted and ate and had a good time. Mer and her family went off to visit a local family who had recently built an in-law suite. We are strongly considering doing that for Dale and Carlene, and so wanted to see how it was done. Sadly, by the end of the meal, I had a pretty good headache, so I just went to bed while everyone else went to visit the new addition. I’ll have to check it out later. Mer’s parents left on Wednesday morning, which was unfortunate since Mer’s vacation started Thursday, but that was all the result of using vouchers to fly (certain dates were blacked out for travel using the vouchers).

On Friday, I took Mer out on a mini-date. We both had the day off, and Saturday was going to be somewhat busy with church in the evening (Saturday being Christmas Eve), so I took Friday as “my” day. In the late afternoon, we headed south to Canton, to the cheap theater, where we saw In Time, a science fiction movie about a society where everyone stays twenty-five years old forever, but have to keep earning more time through work or gambling or the like. I liked the premise, and it had Amanda Seyfried in the movie; I have been fond of her since seeing Letters to Juliet, which charmed me. She played opposite of Justin Timberlake, and both actors did fairly well. Amanda’s role was not sweet at all, but both characters were interesting and believable, at least in context. There were a few moments in the movie that were hard to believe (poor security in a bank, police that are bad shots, etc.), but the overall movie was entertaining. While not a super-deep movie, it did make both me and Mer think and talk about allocation of resources, and the advantage the rich have over others (and rich nations have over others). It was very much worth $3.00 to see.

After the movie, I took Mer to Red Robin, a burger chain. I had a gift card that I could use, and Mer just got a light supper, so she was a cheap date – to the extent that we still have enough on the gift card to go back sometime. So, it was a fairly mellow day, but a good one.

Last Saturday, Mer went to Canton to pick up her parents, and I met them at EJ Thomas Hall in Akron. We met in the main lobby with no trouble. We were there to see “Tuba Christmas,” which is happily a free concert.

Akron’s Tuba Christmas is one of the biggest in the country, with over five hundred tuba players and two “sell-out” performances. Tuba Christmas started in the 70s as a way to get people interested in the tuba family. It plays in over a hundred cities around the country, and it is all made of Christmas music arranged for the tuba family.

At Akron, the tubas play through the song once, and then they play through again while the audience sings. Song books are not provided for the singers, so half the fun is in seeing how many songs the audience knows. Mer and I did pretty well, with Mer knowing (and prompting me on) all the songs except the lyrics to “O Christmas Tree.” We need to learn that one for next year, since we had been stumped by that last year as well.

As a fun bonus, the usher for our row, which was in the balcony, was a former colleague of ours (from CVCA). Mer said that she had run into our former colleague when she had gone with Ellen to see My Fair Lady back in November. Since there are dozens of ushers, that is quite the happy coincidence.

All in all, the concert was much fun. The tubas were decked out in lights and garlands, and we sang lots of carols, and Dale and Carlene seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope to be able to see Tuba Christmas again next year.

On Sunday, we headed down to Canton to Aunt Mary’s place, for lunch with the family and with Mer’s “Aunt” Zovie (her adopted aunt). We had a good lunch together, and then Aunt Zovie had to go. The rest of us had our family Christmas. Since we are all grown-ups (and me), and we all have tons of stuff, this year we decided to to give to charities as gifts for people. We did decide to spruce the gifts up by giving the details of the charity as a riddle or as limericks. So, we made a good show out of the “gift” opening, and we all felt pretty good about how things turned out.

Mer’s parents got to town Monday evening. Mer’s candle party was Tuesday, and her parents and Aunt Mary were coming up to attend. The event seemed to me to be leaning in a girls’-night sort of way, so I made plans to go out with Mer’s father, Dale. We headed over to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, where we had a very good supper and chatted for about an hour.

Mer’s friend Jill was the woman behind the natural candles, and she seems like a lot of fun. The party had Mer and Jill, Aunt Mary, Carlene (and later Dale), and four others. That seemed like a good-sized crowd. I retreated to my bedroom when I got home so I could read, but the party went on until about 10:00.

On Wednesday, Mer went down to North Canton to Aunt Mary’s for supper and visiting with her parents. I stayed home and cleaned up some from the party.

On Thursday, I had thought that Aunt Mary and Dale and Carlene had plans. Those plans fell through, so Mer went to North Canton to visit, but I had already made plans to go see CVCA’s hockey team in action again. This was a very tough opponent, and it was a great game. I only stayed through the end of the second period, when CVCA was up 4-3. I then left because I had to work the next day, but CVCA ended up winning the game 8-4. It was a very entertaining evening.

On Friday, Mer and I went south to Canton again, and we all went to Taggart’s Ice Cream shop. Taggart’s is a family favorite place to eat, and I was very happy that we managed to get there. They serve good simple food (like burgers and sloppy joes), and have great ice cream concoctions. We drove back to Aunt Mary’s, but Mer and I did not stay long. We did, however, make plans to get together on Saturday to see Tuba Christmas in Akron.

Last Saturday was Mer’s day, but she had a couple of events coming up during the week – she was hosting a natural candle and natural lotions party with an old high school friend, and her parents were coming into town for an early Christmas visit. So, while she wanted to do something out and about, she wanted to keep the outings fairly short and simple so that we could get the house clean and ready to go.

To that end, our big social outing of the day was our heading over to Kent State University, to the ice rink, to see CVCA’s hockey team in action. I was delighted. Two of the seniors on the team are in my Connections group at school, so I wanted to support them. Also, I like hockey – it is a fast game, and the checking at the high school level is not vicious, so people do not get hurt often. Lastly, the Kent ice arena has good food. I got french fries and a hot chocolate.

The game started off quickly, with CVCA scoring a goal in the first few seconds, and going up 3-0 within the first four minutes. CVCA has a pretty good hockey team, and they were playing a team that has struggled this season. I’m afraid it was not much of a game. Even with lots of substitutions and an attempt to slow the game down some, CVCA won 11-0 at the end of the second period (high school hockey has a “mercy rule” where if you are winning by 10 or more at the end of the second, the game is over).

I liked seeing my guys play, and I enjoyed the action, but there is not much fun in watching a blow-out. I’m hoping future games will be more entertaining.

Last Friday, we had the first Royal Fools improv show of this school year. I had no idea what to expect, even above the nature of improv shows, in that fourteen of my fifteen students were new this year, and so this was their first show.

The kids were excited in warm-ups, and it took some patience to get through all my notes, but it was worth it. They listened to me and did all my guidelines in the show. I was very pleased with that. I always tell the Fools to greet the audience as they come in, and my charges ran out to do so. I was setting up the stage and making sure everything was ready to go when I realized the students were all singing made-up songs as guests came in. That made me smile.

We were performing against the opening night of boys’ basketball, so I was not sure about how the crowd would be. People came and went between our show and the game, but I’m guessing we had about eighty people in attendance. That is fifteen or twenty people smaller than some of our shows, but the crowd was very responsive and fun to play to.

The show went very well. The students did a great job, and followed the “rules” of improv for each skit. The show ran about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we had a huge buffet of desserts to share with the audience. There had been a junior high girls’ “fun night” earlier in the evening, and they donated the food to our dessert table. We had a lot left over. Sadly, I had been fighting a mild migraine during the evening, and so I went home pretty quickly after the show. Mer went out with her friend Marie, who had come to see Mer and the show. They went out to Friday’s for some light food. I went to bed.

I was very happy with and for my new Fools. They should be proud. Some of the things that happened during the show:

– an expert explanation of three paintings from the “nervous era” of art
– a recitation of an original poem about playing with Barbie dolls, that was simultaneously danced out
– a very bumpy ride to China
– a cat washing service
– a mother playing favorites by giving her son’s teeth to her daughter
– a debate about unicorns and one about stuffed animal health insurance
– a singing competition with a song about air pumps

CVCA has “Connections Groups,” which are groups of eight to twelve students who are assigned faculty or staff to meet with the groups once per week, opposite chapel service. The idea is to connect with the students and to give them an adult to whom they can go for advice or help. I have a Connections group that I have been with since last school year, and I like to offer social get-togethers once in awhile. So, last Monday we got together at Cici’s Pizza.

Cici’s is a pizza buffet, which is always a good thing with teenaged guys. Two of the guys faced off in an eating contest, and the final count (with proper conversions of pasta-to-pizza) was something like twenty-four pieces to twenty-two. I did not try to eat competitively, but I still enjoyed three or four plates of pizza and one plate of dessert. Not all the guys could make it, but it was still a fun group of five of the eight guys. We played or watched people play a few video games and called it a successful night.

On Tuesday, CVCA gave its annual administration Christmas party. While no one (including myself) ever really knows what category I fall under, I have been invited to the admin party every year, and Mer and I have gone every year except when we have been sick. The evening is very casual now. We mill around and chat and eat finger foods and desserts. Mer and I are not the best at the stand-and-eat skill set, so we sat at a table. People came over and said hello, and a couple of people joined us for much of the evening. We ate and chatted for a little over an hour, and then we went to the band Christmas concert in the chapel.

The band concert was short, featuring the junior high band playing four songs and the high school band playing four songs. Mer and I sat in the front row, and had a very good time. Our high school band is especially good, and they did a couple of difficult pieces. We like knowing the students, and we enjoy being part of a community in the audience, since there are always multiple people whom we know and to whom we can say hello.

On Wednesday, Mer and I had both scheduled haircuts, but separately. Normally this is not a blog-worthy event, but the place at which I get my hair cut is next to the Cheesecake Factory. Since Mer and I are trying hard to be good this holiday season, I actually skipped getting dessert to bring home. I was both proud and sad.

I have been training for a longer-run race for some months now, without really having a race in mind. I thought I had putzed around too long and missed my opportunity for a local race, and I did not really want to travel to run. Happily, on a website dedicated to listing half-marathons, I stumbled across the Tour de Ashland run. It took place, not surprisingly, in Ashland, Ohio, which is about seventy-five minutes away from our house. It was a fund-raiser run that benefited the Ashland High School cross country teams. It was scheduled to take place on December 3rd, and it had same-day registration (which I liked, in case the weather was bad). I had a race.

Saturday was sunny and clear, but quite cold. I told Mer to sleep in because I saw no need for her to freeze “watching” a race that was not very spectator-friendly. I drove to Ashland without incident, and found the start area, and the church where registration was happening. Registration was crowded, but easy, and the only downside was a long wait at the restroom. I walked back to my car to put some stuff in it, and decided to try the nearby high school, to see if it was open. There was a wrestling tournament going on, so it was open, and they were kind enough to let me use the bathroom.

The start of the race was near the high school stadium/track, which was the finish line. We started on the road, and the start was noisy enough with chatter that I never heard the start command; the mass of people in front of us just started moving. We started several hundred feet behind the 5-k runners, but they had instructions to stay on the left side of the road, so even though the road was crowded, it was not too bad. I was able to get to full speed right away. I hit a fast stride, and knew it was fast, but decided to see how things would go.

The course was mostly through housing areas, with a few major streets. The streets were not closed, but major streets had crossing guards at them. I kept up the fast pace, and looked longingly at the finish line, which I passed at mile three before heading out into Ashland itself. I found myself in a bit of a “hole” – I had one runner in sight in front of me, and no one close behind me, and I was closing in on the man in front of me. I caught him at about mile five, and we were not sure where the next turn was. Things looked weird to me as we approached a major road, and I heard someone yelling; I turned and saw the woman behind me turning off the street we were on. I let the man with me know, and we turned around. It was very kind of the woman, and I thanked her when I caught her about a mile further on. I suspect I lost about thirty or forty seconds on the little detour.

The rest of the race was fine. I finally figured out at about mile eight that the race had set out realtor signs with arrows on them, in addition to the arrows painted on the road. That helped. I was keeping up the fast pace, but miles eight to ten were quite hilly, and were very difficult. I tried to just keep running and not worry about the pace. I was passed around mile twelve by a young runner (high school), and by the woman who had warned me that I had missed a turn. I thought about running with them, but I could not – I was too tired.

I made the turn into the stadium, gasping and exhausted, expecting to find the finish line. It came as a major mental blow when I understood from the officials that I had to run three hundred meters around the track. That was very difficult. I made it, though, and when I looked up at the clock as I crossed the finish line, it read about 1:29:00. I had broken my previous best time by over four minutes. As an added bonus, the people at the finish line asked me my age, and when I told them I was forty, they gave me a hat, which was given out to the top three finishers in each age group (in addition to a finisher’s medal). That meant I had come in somewhere in the top three. What a great run.

I checked out the church to see if I could find a phone to let Mer know I was okay. The church was open and had food and drink, so I grabbed a bagel and some water. A kind woman lent me her cell phone, and I called Mer, who had just gotten out of bed. That made me smile. I returned the phone, walked back to the car, and drove back home.

My official stats:
13.1 miles
1:28:56
6:48 per mile
15th place overall, out of 278 people
2nd out of 41 in my age group (40-49 years old)

It was a great run!

I did celebrate with Mer by going out to eat at a burger place in Hudson in the afternoon. Otherwise, we were pretty mellow!

Last Wednesday, Mer took me out on a special midweek date, and we even went up to Cleveland, to Playhouse Square, to the newly renovated and just-opened Allen Theater. Mer had received teacher tickets to go see The Game’s Afoot!, a murder-mystery/comedy about William Gillette, an early twentieth-century stage actor who famously played Sherlock Holmes for over thirty years.

The new theater is magnificent. It is much smaller, since they carved up the old, huge theater into three smaller theaters, but they made it work. There are main-floor seats, and one level of balcony seats, where we sat. All the sight lines are good, and we were able to easily hear, even though the actors were not miked (at least not that I could tell).

The set for the play was jaw-dropping. It was mostly the interior of Gillette’s famous Connecticut mansion, and the set designers went all out. There were exposed beams along the roof-line, wooden floors, a secret room that rotated in the corner, a huge fireplace, a grand staircase and balcony, and ornate doors leading to other rooms. It must have been a set designer’s dream.

The play was very funny. The main death, of an obnoxious theater critic, is played way over-the-top, and is very, very funny. A later death is shown onstage and is very real looking, and I found that disturbing, and very odd in a comedy. Other than the too-realistic death, the play was funny and engaging throughout, and slipped into farce at times, which I enjoyed very much. The combination of really funny humor with a whodunnit plot that engaged the mind (I did not guess correctly) made for a really great, if somewhat late, evening. It was especially worthwhile when Mer told me they were free teacher tickets (which is why we were at a Wednesday showing). A fun play.