Robert Pence

I had the Asian Flu in 1957 and spent finals week in the campus infirmary at Purdue. I woke up on a Sunday morning and when I tried to get out of bed the room spun. My whole body felt like pins and needles and I couldn't even sit up, much less walk anywhere. A policeman picked me up in his big, strong arms and carried me to his car and delivered me to the infirmary. They put me to bed in a room and for the next five days except for an occasional check by a doctor or a nurse or someone bringing me a meal tray, I rarely saw anyone. They probably had a quarantine sign on the outside of my door. After I got out, I had to go around and make up my finals in the various professors' offices. It was at least another week before the brain fog completely lifted. Maybe that experience imparted some immunity. Regardless, I'm staying away from public places and family gatherings (lots of rug-rats) for a while. They say the virus can be carried by swine, so I'm definitely staying away from my youngest brother when he comes back to Indiana from Texas for Mother's Day.

Man, does that give me an opening for a rant; sounds like MTS grew up in the lap of luxury. I don't have time to go into all of it right now, though; I gotta go chop some firewood and shoot a squirrel to cook for supper. The dang-near-70 crowd

Beaver dams are remarkable feats of engineering; they're surprisingly effective, and if one gets damaged the beavers quickly get to work making repairs. Sadly, Indiana DNR considers beavers to be pests because their dams cause lowlands near streams to flood, causing problems for the subdivisions that never should have been built there. Beavers built a dam nearly five feet high in a creek that runs through a woods on our farm, and although I never sat still long enough to see the beavers at work, I loved how the once-shallow stream had become deep and wide enough for canoeing and good fishing. One one visit, I discovered that the dam and den had been dynamited without any contact with the property owners (my brother and me), and there was no trace of the beavers any more.

Nice. Too bad we've lost so many places that had individual character and made each road trip something unique.

We didn't have the KKK, neo-Nazis, etc. here. Alan Keyes was the main speaker, so racism probably wouldn't have gone over well. It was a beautiful day and the crowd was actually pretty mellow. Nobody objected to my taking photos; I think they saw it as another opportunity to get their point across. I think the Tea Party rank-and-file don't have an in-depth understanding of just how the economy works or how the mess got created, and their disillusionment is being exploited by the dispossessed conservatives to try to regain control of government. I heard a lot of exhortations about the voters/taxpayers being screwed, but nothing about how they'd been whoring themselves out for years in exchange for SUVs and strip malls and McMansions in Sprawlville. I didn't hear anything either, about how the bailouts had been conceived and set in motion before Obama was inaugurated. If there had been no bailouts, the same agitators would have been leading the same crowds into the streets and courthouse squares to protest the government letting the economy collapse without doing anything.

Fort Wayne Tea Party April 18, 2009 All Photos Copyright © 2009 by Robert E Pence Pint & Slice was hoppin' and Dash-In was packed. When's the last time you saw that on a Saturday? Overheard; "I haven't been downtown in years!"

As you get closer to Pittsburgh, it'll be "warshed."

Good photos and a beautiful natural setting. This bridge puzzles me; it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense either from an aesthetic or a structural aspect. The brick balusters would add a lot of weight, especially if they're real, and visually they don't blend with a cable-stayed or suspended deck. I'd expect masonry elements to be part of a supporting structure, not a load on the supporting elements. Strange.

How true. The one shop I always liked, locally, just went out of business. They lost focus and sunk too much of their capital into home-gym exercise equipment, and weren't prepared for the upsurge in interest in bikes. They always treated me, an old guy who rides old bikes not very fast, in old clothes for transportation and pleasure, with respect, and they were good at providing utilitarian accessories. That leaves me at the mercy of an outfit that really only wants to deal with people who will spend a bundle on trendy stuff. The guys inthe shop are a bunch of racers and single-track jocks who all but curled their lips in disdain when I rode up on my road bike, hand-built 30 years ago with a custom frame and then-top-of-the-line components. I was looking for a small part, and one of them told me that rather than spend money on that old bike I should buy a better new one. He proceeded to try to get me to look at some $400 thing that wasn't nearly so well made as mine. Looks like I'll be going on-line or out of town for my biking needs. It's a shame that what should be everyday utility transportation has gone all trendy, but that's the American Way, I guess. The good, common-sense, utility and commute bikes mostly went extinct, crowded out by fenderless bikes with uncomfortable drop bars and no chain guards bought by people who wanted something that made them look like cycling athletes. Raleigh (not Raleigh USA) quit making the DL-1 classic English roadster in 1976. Its 28-inch wheels, 24-inch low-angled frame, long wheelbase, and upright bars make it a comfortable yet reasonably agile ride that handles brick streets and rough pavement without jarring my innards. At 35 pounds it's no lightweight, but it rolls surprisingly easily and will out-coast a lot of fancier bikes. The Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub gives plenty of range for riding here in the flatlands. I bought it new for less than $100 back in the day, and I've not had to replace anything more than tires and brake pads.

Lordy, did that YMCA video bring back memories. My introduction to Cleveland, some bar in Akron, an ex with too much attitude who became a porn star, and a relationship that should never have begun.

A nice way to absorb some of the flavor of downtown Indianapolis in Spring is to brown-bag a lunch on a weekday and take it to the Circle. It's a popular lunchtime spot and a great place for people-watching.

Delightful photo tour! I knew about the quirky courthouse, but had never seen such intimate coverage of the town. It's beautiful and still has the small-town charms and amenities that have faded from most places.

Excellent! It rains a lot in Indianapolis this time of year, but that's what makes everything so green and vibrant and colorful. I'm glad you gave a lot of attention to the mall with the war memorials, and surprised you got photos up close on the entrance plaza of the Federal Building. They're really testy about that.

If some big guy thinks you're pretty, he'll make someone else braid your cornrows to keep you that way. :-) Edit: The worst coffe is served in hospitals. It's always decaf (there's a reason; more about this later), cheap stuff at that, and weak. It's like river water only without the nutrients. During my most recent hospital adventure (October '07), after I was disconnected from myriad wires, tubes, and machines and was moved from the ICU to a regular surgical care unit and sort of ambulatory if I had something or someone to hang onto, my good friend Chris came to visit me. I had managed to change from my hospital gown into my own very-best pajamas so that I could traverse the corridors without my butt hanging out, so we decided to go to the cafeteria/snack shop off the main lobby. I hadn't had a cup of coffee in more than a week, and that was what I wanted more than anything else -- a cup of strong, black, Colombian coffee with just a teaspoon of sugar. It was heaven! I finally was able to accept that, yes, there is life after surgery. Chris and I sat at a table and chatted and watched people for a while, and soon after we made our way back to my room, a nurse came in. She looked at my cup and asked incredulously, "Just what is that?!" "Coffee," I replied, thinking, "Now that's a dumb question. What does it say on the cup?" Then the lecture began, all about caffeine being immuno-suppressive and I was in a very fragile, vulnerable state and it could endanger my life. Chris caught just as much hell as I did, for being an enabler, and neither of us was surprised about that; not the first time we got in trouble together. He's 30-plus years my junior and I've been a misguided mentor and he an apt pupil since he was in his late teens. Rather than either of us being a moderating influence, we egg each other on like a couple of dogs on the loose. I did take the lecture to heart, and abstained from further caffeine indulgence until my doctor gave me the go-ahead some three or four months later. Ever since, I've been trying to compensate for missed caffeine intake.

Absolutely charming. It looks like the folks there have a sense of history, even when they can't afford multi-milliion-dollar historically-perfect restorations and reconstructions. Great-looking main street.

You've heard the old expression, "skeleton in the closet?" J/K :-D. The room originally was a sewing room, and there's a tiny closet with shallow shelves that held thread and other sewing supplies. The outside door leads to what was once a second-storey airing porch. The doors are good-quality mahogany veneer over a solid wood core; they're original to the house. The floors are 3/8-inch quarter-sawn white oak overlaid on diagonal plank sub-flooring; I wish they hadn't been stained dark, because in their original tone they would brighten the place a lot. If I lived there, you'd better believe I'd have color! Rentals need to be a light neutral to be as bright and pleasant as possible on first viewing and to work with whatever furnishings the tenants bring in. I use Benjamin Moore Navajo White eggshell. Any discerning prospect will appreciate shiny-clean and bright, but people's tastes in color vary widely. While one person might say, "Oooooh! The Colors!" another might say, "Eeeeew! The Colors." Used to be, a professionally employed person or couple would rent a place and stay until some circumstance like a job transfer forced them to move. For a long-term lease (at least 3 years, which never happens), I might consent to some color, but the concept of "investing" in new houses has pretty much ended that. The last four tenants have stayed only until they could find and afford a house. Maybe the upheaval in the mortgage business will change that; I'd welcome a semi-permanent renter, and I'd make concessions to keep a good one.

Not my residence, but while we're talking rentals, this is the one I own. I wasn't get any good applicants, so I went through it and freshened up everything, and after all that expense, my rental agent still isn't coming up with good candidates. My worst nightmares are college kids (parties), single young women (when they move out they leave it filthy - worse than boys/men), and dogs. So what's was the last inquiry? Two sisters in college, with a dog. This is a highly-desirable neighborhood, about a mile from the CBD, reasonably safe, with beautiful homes mostly dating to late 19th & early 20th centuries. I'm asking $695 plus utilities and still no serious adult professionals. Here's the photo set I just put up on my web site; on the site I added contact info for the rental agent. ------------------------------------------------ Live Green! Bike or walk downtown for a Tin Caps game, work, or dinner and drinks! Comfortable, private 2-story 1919 brick home. Quality neighborhood, quiet street, overlooking St. Marys River, on the Rivergreenway, near Swinney Park and #2 bus. New central air with heat pump/gas forced air, fully insulated with good storm windows all around. Complete interior repaint March 2009. Basic lawn care provided. Spacious front porch, wonderful in summer. Living Room - 20x13 feet Hardwood floors, vent-free antique fireplace tested safe 2008, ceiling fan, French doors to dining room. Dining Room - 14x13 feet, built-in cabinets, French doors to living room, swinging door to kitchen. Kitchen - clean & completely repainted, refrigerator approximately 3 yrs, range & range hood new 2009. Original built-in cabinets. Master Bedroom - 19x11 feet Second Bedroom - 15x10 feet Extra Room (storage, etc) - 7x6 Bathroom - Quarry-tile floor, tub-shower enclosure, antique pedestal sink. Basement - Clean & dry, includes toilet, washer, dryer, laundry tub.

Beautiful set. You shot that gorgeous neighborhood at the perfect time of year; the historic architecture isn't hidden behind dense foliage, yet there's just enough green and the flowering trees to set it off. Love it! Reminds me of a crossbred of German Village and Victorian Village. And I mean that as a compliment! Another beautiful Indy thread Zach. Toss in a dash of Dayton's Oregon District, too, and the abundance of frame houses evokes a hint of Ohio City.

Excellent photos, and a handsome, dense city core. Hartford looks much better than I had often heard.

Nice details. Did you spend any time walking around Lake View Cemetery? A lot of important names in America's industrial history are there, including the Van Sweringen Brothers who developed Shaker Heights, Terminal Tower, and the Shaker Rapid, and who built up the New York, Chicago & Saint Louis (NYC&StL) (Nickel Plate) Railroad that operated through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Nice set; you did an excellent job of showing the formal, orderly, dignified layout of the area around the Capitol and the major memorials. I'm always impressed by the downtown because I've watched it remake itself over the past 40 years, from a shabby, worn-out looking place inhabited mainly by vagrants and riff-raff to an active place with many attractions and some significant beauty spots. The area around the canal and White River State Park is splendid in spring when the ornamental trees bloom, the zoo is world-class, and there are the Eiteljorg Museum of Southwestern and American Indian Art, the Indiana State Historical Museum, and the NCAA Hall of Fame all conveniently grouped near each other. Did you know that there's a tiny elevator to an observation deck at the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Circle? I continue to extoll the 1920s splendor of the World War Memorial, at the north end of the mall along Meridian Street. It's a strong, dominant, austere structure from the outside, and on the inside it's purely formally exuberant 1920s High-Style Deco of the type that was used in monuments, memorials, and other prominent public buildings. The central shrine, accessed up a narrow stairway lined with lists of Hoosiers who served the nation in World War I, rendered me speechless when I first saw it at age 13. I'm still completely awed by it. Edit: I almost forgot to mention the excellent, continually-growing, greenway system. The Monon Trail is beautiful, well designed, and heavily used, and it connects with other major paths.

I've been promoting that for some time, but no one pays me any attention. I think the Maumee Valley watershed, including the St. Joseph and St. Marys Rivers and their tributaries, either should be joined to Ohio or reconstituted as its own autonomous district. Fort Wayne, at the headwaters of the Maumee, should be the seat of government, and Toledo as a lake port should be the shipping commerce center. I almost qualify, although I lived on a farm in Wells County (next county to the south) from about 8 until my late teens. I've lived in Fort Wayne longer than most forumers have been alive, so I guess that's one way of defining "lifelong."

Beautiful shots! The trees look like they're trying to outdo themselves this year, and the colors in some of those photos are wonderfully rich and vibrant.

Ahh, Marion. Klan capital of the Great Lakes States, I believe. It was once a hotbed of blatant activity, now more or less underground. Every now and then some bit of memorabilia surfaces that shows faces or names names of an earlier generation of participants, and a lot of people who are hiding skeletons in their family closets try to get it silenced and/or done away with. One incident a lot of people would like to forget is the 1930 lynching on the courthouse square of two young black men charged with killing a white man and raping his girlfriend. The courthouse originally was a nicely-balanced, imposing Beaux Arts structure with an appropriate dome, but the dome was lost to fire many years ago, I believe. There was recent talk of restoring the courthouse and giving it a new dome, but Marion really hasn't seen runaway prosperity since the gas fields played out before 1920. The placement of a large GM stamping plant there, along with other industries in the 1950s, fueled a surge in economic activity, but the photos speak for themselves regarding the state of the city. In the past fifty years a lot of Marion's economy has been tied to the automotive industry, and I don't suppose the city is flush with cash right now. I'm sure there are people in Marion who would take exception to what I say, and I'll admit my opinion carries some bias. Marion does have some good stuff, but it doesn't impress much from the road. Where Highway 37 runs around the town, you can find the some of the ugliest sprawl in Indiana - not only low-quality merchandising to begin with, but a lot of it either closed and abandoned, or on the way. A bright, sunny, blue sky/white clouds day reduces Marion's miserableness index by about 10 percent, max. Church. I can't pin down why my intuition says "Baptist," but it does. Now apparently abandoned.

I don't consider cemeteries morbid at all. In my late teens I did the groundskeeping at a country-church cemetery where many of my dad's ancestors and relatives are interred, and I liked the work. Nobody bothered me, none of the residents complained about the noisy lawnmower ( :wink: ), and in fact during the couple of years that I did that, Memorial Day visitors (the old folks still called it Decoration Day) often complimented me, saying the place looked better than it ever had. It was beautiful, situated by a creek that ran through a marshy woodlot - wicked mosquitos, though - and behind an old brick church that still is in regular use. I think the cemetery dates to around the Civil War, and there are quite a few graves whose stones are weathered beyond reading. Many old urban cemeteries are very beautiful, with big trees and quiet, winding drives. Fort Wayne's Lindenwood is one I enjoy visiting, and while not as grand in scale and scope as Lakeview, Cleveland's Riverside is one of my favorites. It would be good if Americans were to establish a tradition of celebrating these beautiful, peaceful, historic sites as parks to be respectfully enjoyed, and not as something spooky and forbidding. There's a tiny, old, family burial plot on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. Imagine the events that these people must have experienced, and the lives they lived in a remote rural place: