Haircut, Jiffy Lube, Dutch Air Force, and more

I was so tired at the end of yesterday that I collapsed into bed when I finally got home. It was a busy day.

I was up early in order to get to my haircut appointment on time -- 8:15. Next stop was breakfast at MacDonald's, followed by getting the car's oil changed. I made a couple of quick stops on the way home, picking up my favorite nail files (DiamonDeb) at a beauty supply store (I have been buying them online and paying exorbitant shipping costs), a fabric store to look for a sewing box (no luck, but I came out with a great sewing reference book and some cotton yarn). On the way back to the car, I spotted a Tuesday Morning store that I hadn't realized existed. I stopped in there, thinking that perhaps I could find a box of the sort that I got for Alex at the Tuesday Morning on the other side of town, and I found something nice that should work.

By then it was almost eleven, and I still had to change clothes for the trip north to Yellow Springs. I managed to get on the road by 11:20, having redone my hair and cleaned out the car and I was off.

I got to Cheryl's about 12:45 -- the traffic on the country roads leading to the village were packed with bumper-to-bumper traffic.. It seemed as if all of southwest Ohio was heading to the Street Fair. I was lucky to be able to park in Cheryl's driveway. We walked the mile into the village to see even worse crowds on the sidewalks. Other than lunch (a bowl of jambalaya), I didn't spend any money, other than the check I dropped off at the Antioch College booth. One of the staff members (he graduated in the 70's and never left, working in the library ever since) was there at the booth and I gave him the check and the hug I didn't get to give him last weekend at the reunion. He's become a friend throughout all of the Antioch upheaval, and is one of Alex's biggest fans. He's a walking Antioch billboard, and I'm convinced that his entire wardrobe is made up of nothing but tie-dyed shirts -- at least I've never seen him in anything else, and neither has anyone I know). When he introduced me to the woman who was working the booth with him, Cheryl piped up with, "she's the most active Antioch alumni parent there is." He followed up with, "I wish we could pack up your energy and enthusiam for Antioch." They made my day.

Other than looking at a lot of stuff, we didn't do much more than burrow through the crowds. At one point, we connected with Harvey, who was in my Islam class last fall, and who is also an acquaintance of Cheryl and Jim. That was a lot of fun. He went to a college that offered me scholarships way back when, and later taught chemistry there. He grew up not far away from my upstate New York home, also, so we have always found a lot to talk about.

Right now he's in a snit over the Royal Netherlands Air Force. It seems they are forbidden to fly in the Netherlands, except under very strict circumstances (such as one at a time, and at specified hours), and in places out over an uninhabited island in the North Sea. Now they're pulling out of Afghanistan, and will not longer be of help to the allied forces there.

However -- they are now flying out of Springfield Air Base, and bothering the daylights out of the local inhabitants. Cheryl, who works from home, says that she cannot carry on a phone conversation when they fly over, which they do at all hours of the day and night. I couldn't imagine that it was that bad, until Saturday, when I heard them for myself. It's appalling.

Harvey has complained vigorously to the powers that be at the base, to no avail. I understand that there are many jobs created because of their presence, but the Dutch are here because they are restricted at home -- and they are severely impacting the quality of life of their American hosts. It's unfair, don't you think?

Here's what the Yellow Springs manager's report had to say about it just before it all started:


"The Ohio National Guard announced a new mission at the Springfield Air Base. Beginning in 2007, the Royal Netherlands Air Force will begin training at the base for a four-year period. The new mission will result in an estimated 33% more flights from the base, which will result in more noise in the Village. It should be noted that the Village has no ability to regulate noise resulting from aircraft, as we are completely pre-empted by federal law. "


The noise-abatement discussed here doesn't seem to have much of an effect.

I've been doing a little research, and it looks as if things are going to get worse. The Dutch will be there (at a base that has had a lot of new buildings constructed there of late) for another two years, and then I found this in the Springfield News-Sun edition of 26 September:


"The Republic of Singapore is considering training F-16 pilots at the Springfield Air National Guard Base. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 9 of a possible foreign military sale to Singapore estimated at $75 million, according to a news release."

Harvey has been blogging about it and is royally P.O.'d by the whole thing. I can't say that I blame him. Here's an article about his anti-Dutch activism and here is his blog.

On to the rest of day.

By three, we'd had enough of the Street Fair, and it was time for Cheryl's madrigal group's rehearsal. I joined the group for the afternoon. It was fun to sing three-part a cappella pieces, and my sight-reading was adequate. However, as Alex warned me, they're weren't quite up to the standard I'm used to. Two of the members are in their eighties. We still had a good time.

The resident cat at the home in which we rehearsed was delightful. He greeted us when we came in, and I walked over and petted him, then picked him up and sat down. He settled in on my lap and stayed there until the singing started. He and I continued to interact as I picked him up from time to time and petted him and he was a sweet cat. Apparently this astonished those present, as they said, "Watch out for him. He bites." His owner indicated he's never reacted to anyone else in the sweet way he reacted to me. I told them that "cats know a sucker when they see one." She half-kiddingly told me I could take him home. I'm just the cat whisperer, I guess.

So after the out of town singing, it was time to head south to Cincinnati. We arrived at Lavomatic at six, where we met Justin, who was waiting with Cheryl's friends Ed and Joann. They're former Antioch faculty who were visiting in town. We had a great dinner - the food, the wine, and the conversation were all excellent. Later on I discovered that Ed and Joann both attended Syracuse U. when I was there -- they graduated at the end of my freshman year. They both grew up in upstate New York, too. Small world.

After dinner we headed to the theatre to see the opening night of "Boom." It was wonderful, probably the best thing I've seen at the Know ever. The acting was terrific, and the guest director created a well-paced and fascinating evening. The play moved along beautifully, the comic timing of the three actors was dead on, and the play was incredibly witty.

Since it was opening night, there was food all over the place. There were two caterers - one before the show and one afterward, and the Christian Moerlein brewery had a beer tasting going on both before and after the play. A third patron supplied great gelato after the play -- bourbon , and vanilla with black pepper (sounds weird, I know, but it was very well received).

One very nice thing about the Know is that it has "The Underground," a bar. There is a small stage there, as well, and a number of cocktail-loungy tables, plus leather sofas scattered about. They serve drinks before and after the show (and encourage patrons to bring them upstairs to the theatre during the show). Last night, people started to gather an hour before the performance, and they remained for quite a while afterward.

The Underground has also served to be an additional source of revenue for the theatre. Their liquor license permits them to serve drinks only at "events," so the bar is only open when there is a show. There have been other opportunities for "events" as well, such as renting the space out to businesses for conferences (and the bar is open). The theatre was also a venue for the Mid-Point Music Festival, so there was more income then, as well. Alex has become a competent bartender, and donates her tips back to the theatre.

Today I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping and have worked on music and watched movies all day. I just finished watching Bette Davis and Leslie Howard in "Of Human Bondage" from 1936. Great acting, horrid story. Tomorrow I'll spend most of the day with David, and Monday it's back to work.