Nasal Passages » Grant

So, you know how when you drive the same route to work every single day at the same time you end up passing the SAME vehicles on a daily basis, right? I first noticed “Motorcycle Man” when I was pulled over along-side the road with one of Woodville, Ohio’s finest writing me an $85 ticket for a stop sign violation I still say never occurred. Nonetheless, here came this guy on a motorcycle… I made note because his headlight was dimmer than it should be… sort of an orange-ish color instead of white. And it was drizzling… I thought “It would suck to be on a motorcycle in this…”

Since then I’ve seen him every single morning. EVERY MORNING. Today is November 2… when I passed Motorcycle Man this morn, I looked at my dashboard thermometer and it said the outside temperature was 29F. TWENTY-NINE and he’s riding his motorcycle!!! Headlight still dim… saving gas I guess?

Some may call him crazy… but me? I like him. Go, Motorcycle Man… GO!!!

Gee, that’s a shame…

Grant — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:49:47 +0000

Well, everything is booked for our vacation this summer! We’ll be spending 10 days in the Pacific NW again; Portland, Cannon Beach, and Husum, WA. And gee… how about this… our last night, we’re staying at a SWANKY hotel in Portland…AND to top it all off, the Oregon Brewers Festival will be going on that weekend. It’s only the largest brew fest in the nation, that’s all. Huh… wonder how THAT happened?? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, beer….

I’m really excited about the trip. We’re going to both run the 10K in the Nike Run Hit Wonder. We’ll be white-water rafting again, we’re going to be staying at the same place in Cannon Beach, but we blocked out an extra day there to spend on the beach and/or hiking through Ecola State Park. We’re staying at a bed & breakfast in Husum… I’ve never stayed at a B&B before, but I just talked to the owner tonight and it sounds like a pretty nice, laid-back thing to do. I’m nothing if I’m not laid back!

Hopefully, we’ll be able to see Moss before he leaves for Japan too!! And my cousin Mike and his family and my aunt and uncle… Now the hard part… waiting for the 22nd!

Elmore is bursting with GOBA!!!

Grant — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 01:42:42 +0000

Elmore, Ohio… population around 1300 last time I checked. Tonight, the number of people sleeping in this town will be close to 4500 thanks to the addition of some 3200 cyclists participating in GOBA, the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. The town is bursing at the seams. There’s a tent city at the high school that’s pretty massive. I came home and it was just packed downtown… there were bands playing at the park in the middle of town, streets blocked off so people could dance. It’s all very cool…

You’ve got to understand, this is Elmore… nothing EVER changes here… that’s why this is so momentous for us! You can check out the rest of the photos I took down at the school here.

In the words of Moon Zappa….

Grant — Sun, 19 Jun 2005 01:14:03 +0000

GAG ME WITH A SPOON!!! BARF OUT!!!

I mean, come on Toledo!!! I’ve been w/o a television set for 2 months now, and yet I can’t escape knowing every intimate detail regarding the Tom Cruise romance with Toledo native, Katie Holmes. Katie, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of spending a little time, is as sweet as she looks; adorable, bright, shy, funny… Tom, well, he’s a bit of a whack-job from what I can tell. Scientology… um… read this… I don’t know if it’s legit or not, but…well… yeah.

I don’t know what’s worse, the corruption of this adorable, innocent, bright young lady, or the reaction of a city with the worst self-image in America to the pre-nuptial bliss. Here’s a quote from today’s Toledo Blade:

“I think it’s kind of cool that they’re engaged. It’s like if Katie Holmes is dating Tom Cruise, then it’s like Toledo is dating Tom Cruise.” John Wiley, 24, who works in his father’s downtown law firm, said although he’s not shocked by the couple’s engagement, he is surprised by the news that Ms. Holmes is embracing Scientology, the religion Mr. Cruise practices.

Even Katie’s father, a Toledo lawyer, is in on the schmaltz-fest:

“Anybody that has been breathing for the last 20 years knows about Tom Cruise,” Marty Holmes said. “It’s a very exciting time for everybody. It’s an exciting time for Toledo.”

Sure, she had a poster of him in her bedroom growing up (If I hear THAT story one more time I may actually vomit), I’m sure she’s star-stricken. It’s fine that they’re dating, together, engaged, whatever… but is it really “an exciting time for Toledo???” Good Lord, people… An exciting time for Toledo would be the announcement that Toledo is no longer one of the unhealthiest communities in America, is no longer one of the top smoking cities in America. An exciting time for Toledo would have been if Owens Illinois had decided to STAY in the city, instead of moving to neighboring Perrysburg (of course, this was before the Cruise/Holmes news… maybe they’ll reconsider now, since it’s such a good thing for Toledo).

So, do I wish them well? Sure… why not. I don’t have a problem with the age difference, the religious changes, the PDA… Love is love… it’s as close as we come to God in this life. I just wish Toledo wasn’t so damn pathetic throughout this whole thing though. Granted, I don’t live in Toledo, I don’t work in Toledo, but when someone from “not around here” asks where I live, I generally say, “NW Ohio, near Toledo.” Near in proximity, but thankfully, not so close when it comes to mindset!!

Hmmmmm

Grant — Fri, 17 Jun 2005 01:00:05 +0000

I haven’t written much lately, have I? I’ve been busy busy busy with work. Seems like I no longer want to fire up the computer when I get home at night.

One kind of cool thing I’ve been doing lately is working on editing a book that my dad wrote before he died. It’s a pretty good story. Not particularly my type of book, but in a pulp-fiction, gumshoe kind of mystery way, it’s good! I put it into Word and have gotten the chapters all set now. I now need to print up a copy and re-read it, marking it up while I go. I’ll have to go through and change names too; dad used real names to keep things straight while he was writing it.

We’re pretty close to entering month #3 w/o TV in the Cummings household. I’ve got to say, it’s really been fantastic!! I’m not so sure I could do it w/o XM Radio though. I’ve read a LOT, we’ve talked a lot, spent a lot more time outdoors… it’s just been really liberating!

More of the WTOL stuff…

Grant — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 17:15:21 +0000

Well, I was contacted by WTOL Channel 11 and they wanted to put me on air as well as some of the kids who participated in the “official” graduation ceremony at WHS. After much thought, I declined and sent the following response to them:

Frank,

The more I think about it, the less interest I have in perpetuating this “story” any more. If you want to do anything, feel free to read my first email on the air. I stand by that and don’t feel it needs much clarification. I don’t see any good in putting some of the graduates who attended the official cermony on-air, and fear it could only end up looking like an “us vs. them” situation between the students.

What angers me even more, now that I’ve gotten a little more information about this whole scenario, is that WTOL asked to attend the graduation ceremony at Woodmore High School and was welcomed by the school IF they would focus on the achievements and accomplishments of the class of 2005 (as opposed to continuing the story of the 15 students who weren’t allowed to attend). WTOL didn’t accept those terms, which really brings to light the station’s agenda.

I’m glad you’re seeing such negative reaction. It was an issue that should never have made it to the airwaves, whether the families of the 15 contacted you or not.

I appreciate your understanding my position and will gladly clarify any points I’ve made, but I really think the story should be over now.

Thanks,
Grant Cummings