Video Grab Bag . . .

Three weeks is a long time to be off this grid.  But it has been a busy three weeks – a show in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a nasty cold, wedding planning, rotten weather.  You get the idea.  By the time most of you read this, I will have arrived in sunny Tucson for a few days with my parents – of course, I waited until the first day of what appears to be spring weather in Ohio to finally escape.

Here are a few things I noticed over the past few weeks . . .

The best thing I saw all weekend in Allentown.  I have seen canines in strollers before, but never with a private wheelchair . . .

If you’re on our e-mail list, you may have already seen this.  We R Memory Keepers sent a demo Flower Punch Board to me in Allentown, so I sat down at the workdesk in my hotel room and made this flower –  with the tagline, “If I can do this, surely you can do better.”  Melinda Doster insisted that a picture be taken as I wore my creation – no doubt you can tell how thrilled I was.

I heard quite a commotion while we were tearing down the booth, and looked behind me to watch Joel of Heartfelt Creations pulling one of his cabinets into a truck with a cable and a winch.  It was quite the sight, especially when it reached the top of the ramp and started to sway.  So I pulled out my phone and got video of his next attempt.  For those of you who get the blog by e-mail, click in the black box above and the video should show up – if not, click this instead . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw5cXnBMmuA

When I got home from Allentown, my first duty was to deliver the treats that Bev Parnell brought to the show for Zoe.  I wanted Bev to see Zoe’s reaction, so out came the phone again.  Again, for those of you who get the blog by e-mail, click in the black box above and the video should show up – if not, click this instead . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPjPk_hQuz0

I love the NCAA tournament, but ran into a dilemma last Thursday when the University of Dayton Flyers played The Ohio State University Buckeyes (watch the introductions on any NFL game this fall – an Ohio State alum will always refer to his school as “The Ohio State” – I’m an Ohio State fan and it gets old).  I root for both teams, but when push comes to shove, I am an Ohio State football fan and a Dayton basketball fan.  When I was in college at Miami University (that’s the real Miami in Ohio – we sometimes remind folks that Miami was a university when Florida still belonged to Spain), I used to sit in the front row at Millett Hall for Miami/Dayton games and root for Dayton.  The frat boys hated me – but while Miami got my money, my allegiance was with Dayton.  When Dayton won last Thursday, the local paper skewered Ohio State on the front page, and the headline went viral.

If you don’t have a rooting favorite Thursday evening for Dayton/Stanford, you can join my mom and me and root for the Flyers – we’ll be watching from Tucson.

And last week we went into serious Wedding Planner mode – and learned that Panera Bread is a great place to spread stuff out on tables.  We accomplished a lot – the invitations were picked out, guest list was finalized, and much much more.  This is Emily along with her mom and stepdad – Ryan was on the other side of the table but I cropped him out because he was looking goofy.

That’s it for now.  Don’t expect too many pictures of me from the trail – Blake isn’t making the trip this time so I’ll be on the wrong side of the camera . . .

My Sincerest Apology . . .

Oh, how I messed up . . .

When I posted this picture in my last blog post, I made the following comment – “She said her dad would be less than pleased that she was wearing an Ohio State logo (he’s an Indiana fan).”

Three hours after it posted, I received the following message from Phil Arnold – “OK, Greg. Now you're in real trouble. I'm a PURDUE Alum, not an Indiana fan. My next favorite team is whoever is playing against Indiana. I may have to reconsider golfing with someone who would insult me like that! :-)”

I have committed a sacrilege akin to someone referring to me as a Michigan fan (with all due respect to our friends and customers who follow That Team Up North).  I have already corrected the blog post and offered a personal apology, but can’t change what was already sent to those of you who get the blog post by e-mail.  Therefore, I offer the next best thing – visual aids . . .

 

Growing Up on the Road . . .

One of the interesting sights that customers often notice when the convention comes to town each year is the change in our children as they grow up.  My son Ryan was eight years old when we first started traveling – in four months he will be 26.  He was one of several kids who grew up together on the circuit – none of whom has been seen at a show in several years.  But they have been replaced by a whole new generation.

 

The Lindeman kids (Noelle and Alana – their parents are Steve and Michelle from Toomuchfun) are different from most – they were born on the show circuit.  And I have taken lots of pictures of them around our booth over their lifetimes because they are both in love with Keia Arn0ld.  Keia and her mom Robin started working with us at shows in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio when she was about ten years old – so we have watched her grow up in our booth as well!

Last weekend, we were in Indianapolis – and very little has changed . . .

 

Saturday was Noelle’s turn.  Early in the day, we were too busy for visitors.  But as the afternoon wore on . . .

 

. . . there was this magnet that just drew her to Keia.  And it’s obvious by the way she interacts with kids that Keia was born to be a teacher.

By Sunday, Alana also found her way to our side of the room.  Of course, the kids could have spent the day – there were Snowmageddon Warnings all weekend so most of our customers came on Saturday and we had plenty of time to visit (and very little snow – the “up to a foot” that was forecast turned out to be about two inches).

Midafternoon Sunday proved that kids can be exhausting.  Keia has been out of college for almost a year, but this reminded me how easy it is for the college-age bunch to fall asleep anywhere.

They also recharge their batteries quickly.  This shot was taken just as we started to tear down the booth – we were right next to an open garage door and Keia was freezing, so I offered her an extra sweatshirt that I carry in the truck.  She said her dad would be less than pleased that she was wearing an Ohio State logo (he’s a Purdue alum).

 

This was the slippery view during teardown – the second round of snow began just as we started, and of course it was blowing into the truck!  And it was a long snowy walk for Robin as she walked across the parking lot to bring her car closer to the building.  Maybe Spring will finally come by the time we get to Allentown, Pennsylvania in ten days – but at this rate I doubt it . . .