CLEVELAND ROCKS!! (If you keep your expectations low...)

My Michigan cousins are sick so I get an extra day in Ohio. Time to reminisce...   I drove by the house I lived in during elementary school. Gareau Drive has never looked more magnificient. Of course when we lived there, we would often have pink flamingos on the lawn or the "Skaryd Rest Stop" - a dummy sitting atop an old discarded toilet seat - due to a strange series of pranks my parents and the Kotalicks next door were fond of playing on each other.  

I also visited the Spruce school where in fourth grade I decided I would be a school librarian. My class sat on this very floor (although, hopefully, not on the same rug) and heard the librarian read ME AND THE TERRIBLE TWO by Ellen Conford. I was thrilled that there was a job where I got to read at work. I knew I had found my calling!

Since I was already drinking deeply in the well of nostalgia, I ran over to the former North Olmstead public library, which is now the school district offices. But at least this ugly 1960s block still stands. It is where I fell in love with the Betsy Tacy books and where I learned the magic of the Dewey Decimal System. No eye rolling! You have met me, right??

 Since I was in desperate need of sustenance, I stopped by Dairy King. Which should have a sign underneath the big sign which reads - "Not affiliated with any Queens, dairy or otherwise." They have the exact same product names as DQ, but they are cash only and the woman writes all the orders in a notebook. It is truly regal! And my peanut buster [not] parfait was significantly better than the Beverly version due to the addition of whipped cream and a cherry. It's good to be the king!

Heading for Chicago tomorrow - I'll keep you posted!