Every father must have some special interest or hobby he hopes to share with his children.
For some dads, it may be baseball, stamp collecting or a specific kind of music. My father demonstrated an affinity for newspapers, alcohol and the Cleveland Browns. Fortunately, I have been able to withstand two of those three evils.
My wife Shannon and I have agreed on many of the difficult choices that need to be made for our sons, Evan, who is hurtling toward 5, and Sean, who is zipping toward 3. We agreed on when to introduce religion, when to start allowing Evan to sleep in the top bunk and which preschool to send them to.
But we have disagreed on when to introduce one of my great interests and diversions: “Star Wars.”
When I was 10 or so, “Star Wars” burst into pop culture with an atomic force that continues to echo and evolve nearly 35 years later. It is difficult to explain to young people today just how and why the movie and its immediate sequels — “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” — were so influential. But back in the dark ages of 1977 — before the Internet, before home video, before the proliferation of hundreds of cable TV channels — movies held much greater power over the American imagination. If you missed a movie in the theater, you did not see it again unless it appeared years later on television or was re-released. So “Star Wars,” which ignited a revolution in film technology and forged a community of fans hungry to own any plastic reproduction of the experience, redefined a generation’s notion of “cool.”
Before “Star Wars,” junk like “Hong Kong Phooey” and “The Banana Splits” filled Saturday morning television and decorated lunchboxes. “Star Wars” blew past such one-dimensional dreck and ignited imaginations for people like rock ‘n’ roll had 20 years before, and like the “Harry Potter” books would 20 years later.
To belabor the point, for many of us, pop culture and our connection to it is clearly delineated between Before “Star Wars” and After “Star Wars.”
But for Evan, “Star Wars” is simply another stream of pre-existing reality, like Disney movies, SpongeBob SquarePants and superheroes on a scale from Mr. Incredible to Batman. My wife has argued for a year now that since Evan already knows most of the characters through T-shirts, Happy Meal toys and the slowly growing collection of vehicles and action figures we’ve acquired through garage sales, he would enjoy seeing the actual films.
Part of me knows she has been correct. Evan chose a “Star Wars” lunchbox for preschool (well, “Clone Wars,” but that’s what they’re pushing these days), loves his “Star Wars” pajamas with the Lego likenesses of the characters and has worn thin the little “Star Wars” picture book that teaches the alphabet (“J” is for “Jedi!”).
And yet …
A few years ago, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a story about an overeager father who makes his son sit through “Star Wars.” The dad hopes the film will inspire the same euphoric reaction in his son it had in him decades earlier but it elicits a reaction of “Meh. It’s OK,” from his son.
The article chronicles the dad’s mystification and disappointment that his boy wasn’t blown away. I certainly do not want to be that dad, yet I am aware of my own indefensible love for these films, so I have delayed showing them to Evan.
But a week or so ago, we took Evan to a matinee of the animated film “Megamind.” It centers on superheroes, aliens and slapstick, three elements as attractive to a young boy as recess, candy and mud puddles. Evan loved it, talked about it nonstop and called it the “best movie ever,” a critical appraisal that can be forgiven someone who has not yet experienced a film more sophisticated than “The Backyardigans: Robot Rampage.”
But the “best movie ever” gauntlet had been thrown, so that afternoon, we made some popcorn, darkened the room and started the DVD of “Star Wars” on the big-screen TV.
I doubt Evan will remember the experience, but I will never forget it. He watched the opening space battle with awe, appreciated the comedic roles of R2-D2 and C-3PO and moved closer to me when Darth Vader made his dramatic first appearance. He was curious about the scrap-collecting Jawas, jumped in my lap when the nasty Tusken Raiders attacked Luke Skywalker and delighted in the mysteries of hyperspace, lightsabers and cantina aliens.
Evan stayed engrossed throughout the Death Star trash compactor scene and was truly shocked when — spoiler alert! — Vader’s saber cuts down Ben Kenobi.
“I thought the good guys always win,” Evan whispered, distressed by the loss of the Jedi Knight.
Later, when Skywalker’s proton torpedoes explode the Death Star into smithereens, Evan raised his arms in triumph and whooped with excitement. He was troubled by  — spoiler alert! — Vader’s escape, but as soon as the film ended, he began asking if we could watch the next one, “The Vampire Strikes Back.”
“Not today,” I said. “Let’s let this one soak in for a bit.”
I hesitated, then asked, “So, you liked it, right?”
Evan’s answer brightened my spirit.
“It was great!” he said, enthusing about space lasers, Chewbacca, robots and the desert planet.
I was relieved and proud. A major torch had been passed and no one — by which I mean me — got burned.
Then, as Evan jumped off the couch to seek some toys to play with, he delivered a proton torpedo of his own.
“But I liked ‘Megamind’ better,” he said.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. E-mail him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Grumpy’s, a popular Downtown Toledo lunch spot, is turning frowns upside down for breakfast.
Served Monday through Friday from 7 to 11 a.m., Grumpy’s breakfast menu features a variety of breakfast sandwiches, including a build-your-own option.
“It’s just been a lunch menu for many years — that’s what we’re known for — so a lot of people are surprised we’re serving breakfast, but pleasantly surprised,” said new co-owner Dustin Hostetler, grandson of the original owners. “Two weeks in and we already have regulars.”
The addition of Wi-Fi and ample outlets has made the new breakfast hours popular with the early morning business-meeting crowd because it’s quieter and less crowded than at lunchtime, Hostetler said.
One convert is regular customer Josh Goldberg, who said he already loved Grumpy’s lunches, and its breakfast met all expectations as well.

Grumpy’s Breakfast: Clockwise from top, WorldClass Morning Buns, Jennifer’s Special Breakfast Wrap and a Hot Bod.

“Best meal I’ve had in Toledo,” Goldberg said. “The sandwich was perfect — egg thicker than anywhere else in Toledo, cheese just melted on and I didn’t have to wait a minute.”
Hostetler and his aunts, Jennifer Shemak and Sara Bauman, daughters of the original owners, took over the business after the death of their grandmother/mother, Connie Horn, in late September, and added the breakfast menu in November.
“We figured we were here prepping for lunch already, why not open our doors,” said Hostetler, who worked as a busboy, dishwasher and sous chef at Grumpy’s during high school and college. “Grandma got to know all the customers, and we’re attempting to do that as much as possible. I’m already getting to know the regulars. It’s fun — a lot of people really treat this like a second home and treat us like family.”
Shemak has cooked Grumpy’s fare since its beginning 27 years ago. She’s the Jennifer behind the lunchtime “Jenn-wiches” and Jennifer’s Special House Salad. Now she has another namesake.
Jennifer’s Special Breakfast Wrap ($4, ham, egg, Swiss cheese, jalapeño, roasted veggies and pesto in a grilled wrap) has been a favorite, Hostetler said, with one man coming in every morning so far to get one.
Another favorite is the World Class Morning Buns ($3.50), basically a cinnamon-and-sugar-topped cross between a croissant and a brioche, which comes with honey cream cheese dip, Hostetler said.
“People have been coming in just for that or picking them up on their way to work,” Hostetler said.
Other breakfast sandwiches include The Shorty ($4, bacon, egg, cheddar and tomato on ciabatta roll) and David’s Favorite, named after a longtime dishwasher ($4, bacon, egg, American cheese and jelly on toasted white bread).
For those wanting something a little healthier, there’s the Hot Bod ($4, egg whites, roasted veggies and Muenster cheese on a toasted whole wheat bagel).

Hostetler

Or there’s the option to build your own breakfast sandwich.
“I’m hoping this gets people to make really adventurous sandwiches,” Hostetler said. “You can do some really crazy combinations.”
Freshly baked muffins ($3), cinnamon buns ($2.50) and Three Egg & Cheese Sliders ($5) round out the breakfast menu.
Hostetler said nothing has been taken off of the lunch menu — the popular Garbage Salad is untouched — but new additions include pulled-pork sliders and Scott’s Italian Burger Sub, named after a favorite regular.
“We haven’t changed the things people love about the place,” Hostetler said. “We’re playing around with more specials, trying sandwiches for a week, more daily stuff.”
Hostetler is an artist whose work, under the moniker UPSO, occasionally appears in Toledo Free Press Star.
Reach Grumpy’s, 34. S. Huron St., at (419) 241-6728 or follow them at www.facebook.com/grumpysdeli or on Twitter (grumpysdeli) for weekly specials and exclusives.
Full hours are Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Being perfect isn’t for Matt White. In fact, his “Best Days” is behind him.
The title track from “Best Days,” his 2007 full-length debut, showcased his upbeat, fun style — and landed him on the charts and VH1. His music was featured in movies, including “Hotel for Dogs,” “Shrek the Third” and “What Happens in Vegas,” and on TV, including “One Tree Hill” and “Brothers and Sisters.”

Matt White

While Rolling Stone tabbed White an artist to watch, he wasn’t that happy.
“My first record, I took it too seriously; touring with ‘Best Days,’ it ruined it for me. It was all perfection and no vibe,” the singer-songwriter said. “I was trying to be perfect, and I was the total opposite; it was terrible.”
For “The Good Crazy,” released in September, the New Yorker embraced imperfection — and had a great time.
“It was intense because everything was recorded live,” White said of sessions in an old church in Woodstock, N.Y.
And he recorded the disc on unforgiving analog tape.
“I used analog because I just love the sound so much more,” White said during a call from a tour stop in Auburn, Ala. “This sound is much warmer than the first record.”
The follow-up keeps that high energy and sense of humor.
“Songs like ‘Therapy’ and ‘Honeymoon Phase’ I think that they’re thematically funny,” the pianist and guitarist said. “The lyrics and the bounciness of the song ‘Therapy’ is hysterical because when you are living in New York and when you are single, there’s always those people around who are constantly trying to set you up, and I think a lot of people can identify with that.”
On “Sunshine,” White laments the daily grind, has visions of winning the lottery and sings, “I’ve been looking for inspiration on your Facebook wall … I need a little bit of sunshine from you.”
“[That song is] just sort of about being down and being bored with the kind of ‘Ground Hog Day’ existence; it seems like life is just the same,” he said.
White will break up the routine and bring “The Good Crazy” tour to The Ark in Ann Arbor for an 8 p.m. concert Nov. 30. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The St. Ursula Arrows volleyball team won its second state championship title Nov. 13.

Veronica Zimmerman and Maggie Burnham with their parents.

“Obviously winning a state championship is a very difficult feat and I was very proud,” said head coach John Buck. “They set this goal and they worked hard. The coaching staff and I really pushed these girls hard and they responded positively all year long and did everything we asked them to do. I couldn’t be prouder and I was excited for them.”
The team beat the Dublin Coffman Shamrocks for the Division I state title, 15-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-18, at Wright State University.
Four members of the Arrows had 10 or more kills, including 15 by junior Erin Williams,  12 by senior Maggie Burnham and 10 by both sophomore Maddie Burnham and junior Cassidy Croci.
“[Winning the championship] was awesome. It was a great way to leave. I’m going to miss the bond that our team had. It was a great way to end it all,” said senior setter Veronica Zimmerman, who had 37 assists and six aces in the final.
On Nov. 16, seniors Zimmerman and Maggie Burnham signed intent papers to play in college.  Burnham signed with Northwestern University, and Zimmerman with the University of Memphis. Both girls said they look forward to playing in college.
“I love the school, the girls and the coaches. It’s going to be a lot of fun next year,” Burnham said.
The Arrows advanced to the state championship after winning against Brecksville-Broadview Heights on Nov. 12 in the semifinal. The team finished its season 28-1.
St. Ursula Academy also won a state volleyball title in 2004.

As the temperature drops, individuals and families need to prepare themselves for winter-related emergencies.
To better prepare the public for winter, the Red Cross of Greater Toledo and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) will address cold emergencies in its next Ready U session, “COLD — It’s a Killer.”
The third session of the year-long series will discuss snow emergencies, blizzard conditions, ice storms and symptoms of cold injuries, among other topics, said Tom Barnhizer, deputy director of the Lucas County EMA.
“We ask the public to think about what kind of conditions can occur in the winter and use their common sense on how they are going to respond when those conditions do come up,” he said.
Barnhizer said there are a number of winter emergencies that can occur in Northwest Ohio and the public needs to be prepared.
The first type of emergency would be a snow emergency.  Each level snow emergency has its own risk, but Level 3 emergencies are the most severe, Barnhizer said.
“The worst case would be a Level 3. Everyone should stay off road unless it’s an absolute emergency, because people may not be able to get where they need to go and become stranded or isolated,” he said.
Barnhizer noted that the conditions associated with any level snow emergency also pose a threat to those with health conditions; those with  pre-existing conditions are at risk for strokes or heart attacks while shoveling the heavy wet snow, he said.
Another winter emergency is an ice storm. Each year, Lucas County averages at least 1 to 3 ice storms, Barnhizer said.
Ice is heavy and can cause weak structures to collapse and break power lines. Families and individuals should be prepared for possible power outages lasting at least three days, Barnhizer said.
Individuals and families should have kits at home with food, water and other necessities in case of a power outage or snowstorm.
In addition to home kits, individuals should also have a kit in the car in case the car gets stranded, he said. Some things the kit should have are food, water and a sleeping bag.
One basic step individuals can take to prepare their car for the winter is to always have half a tank of gas, Barnhizer said. A car can be heated for up to three days on a half-tank of gas if it’s turned on and off to warm sporadically during that time, he said.
If someone is stranded in a storm he or she shouldn’t leave the car either, because a vehicle is easier to find in a snowstorm than an individual person.
Cold temperatures can also pose risks of hypothermia and frostbite so every time people go out they should layer up, Barnhizer said. The cold poses an increased threat to the elderly, the young and the sick.
“Every type of emergency condition or disaster has its own unique features that pose hazards to the public. It’s important to understand how they can affect us,” Barnhizer said.  “We want to make sure people understand how their individual preparedness can affect their ability to survive.”
“Blizzard” Bill Spencer of 13abc will lead the hour-long event, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library Main Branch, 325 N. Michigan St. on Nov. 22. Representatives from the Lucas County EMA, such as Barnhizer, as well as representatives from the Red Cross will be on hand to answer any cold-emergency-related questions individuals might have.
Funding for Ready U comes from a combination of grant money from the Department of Homeland Security to the Lucas County EMA and donations from The Andersons.
For more about Ready U programs and information on how to prepare for an emergency, visit ready-u.com.
Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor for the Ready U program.

An exhibition of never-before-seen works from Ohio artist Aminah Robinson opens at the Toledo Museum of Art’s (TMA) Glass Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 19.
“Aminah Robinson: Voices that Taught Me How to Sing,” features the 70-year-old artist’s Ragmud Collection, which was recently acquired by TMA for its permanent collection.
Robinson will be at TMA 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 to sign copies of the exhibition catalog.
Robinson’s style combines traditional art materials with found and everyday objects to create two- and three-dimensional works of art, according to a news release. Created over a span of 22 years, the Ragmud Collection is a 10-volume set of artists’ books that consists of sculptural pieces, buttons, drawings, poems, personal stories, books-within-books, extended pullouts and cases.
All of the pieces incorporate storytelling, with recurring themes being her childhood neighborhood in Columbus and her exploration of her African-American heritage, including travels to Africa.

Aminah Robinson, The Ragmud Collection: Volume 2, Growin’ Up on Thorn. Book: mixed media

In 2007, Amy Gilman, TMA’s associate curator of contemporary and modern art, along with the former director of TMA, visited Robinson at her home to ask about acquiring some of her work. It was during that visit that the books that make up the Ragmud Collection were discovered.
“No one other than Aminah knew it existed until the visit to Columbus,” Gilman said in the release.
The new exhibit, which is free and runs through Feb. 27, is the first time the collection has been shown publicly.
The Ragmud Collection is not quite books, not quite sculptures, not quite paintings — it’s more like all of the above incorporated into one, said Teri Sharp, public relations manager for TMA.
“It’s just absolutely delightful; it’s like patchwork,” Sharp said. “All these wonderful things she’s created with found artwork. It’s fanciful and meaningful. I think people are really going to enjoy it.”
The volumes will be displayed in special triangular cases that allow visitors to see each book from all sides, Sharp said.
A 20-minute video of the artist explaining her work will play in a loop. There will also be large-scale images of elements of the books displayed.
In addition, supplies will be provided and visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to contribute to a community book in the style of Robinson, Sharp said.
Robinson, who was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2004, will return to Toledo in January to work on a project with inner-city elementary school students.
For more information, visit the website www.toledomuseum.org or call (419) 255-8000.

Asset sales and the elimination of refuse pickup services are goals of the balanced 2011 General Fund budget Toledo Mayor Mike Bell presented Nov. 15.
“People don’t want new taxes and they don’t want new fees, so based on that, is how we framed our budget,” Bell said during a press conference Nov. 15 announcing his new budget.
For 2011, the city has predicted an income revenue of $214.4 million, but has a general fund operating budget of $229 million. To bridge the roughly $14.5 million gap between the incoming revenue and spending, the city will transfer funds and sell assets.
The city transferred $6.3 million from the capital improvements fund, allowed by the voters in March, and $3.3 million in trust fund assets to the general fund. The city also projects selling $4.85 million in assets, which are part of 2010 real estate negotiations in progress but that aren’t expected to be  finished by New Year’s, Bell said.
Patrick McLean, finance director for Toledo, said the city based its general fund budget on three budgetary principles; conservative revenue projections, pay today’s debts today and live within its means.
The city has assumed no new taxes and accounted for less revenue sharing coming from the state, McLean said.
In addition the city has increased its efforts to collect delinquent taxes and predicts nearly $4 million in collection from past due taxes, McLean said.

Mayor Mike Bell

As a portion of the 2011 budget goes toward making deferral payments to employees, the city is trying a new approach, McLean said.
“We have been hampered over the last couple of years by pushing back what we owe to some of our employees until the following years. We have in this budget a significant amount of deferral payments, so we tried to keep it so that that is the last time we have to do that,” he said. “It’s time to suck it up and pay our bills so we can be done with it, so we can start fresh in 2012.”
Among tactics to cut spending and live within the city’s means was the complete elimination of the city refuse system. The city hopes to instead contract with a Lucas County Solid Waste Management District.
If a Lucas County Solid Waste Management District is created, and in place by Sept. 1, the city would save $2.8million, Bell said.
The city’s current refuse costs are $16.3 million a year, but its fees are only bringing in $8.9 million.
“There is about a $7 million gap in what we receive and what we have to spend. That model does not have sustainability,” Bell said.
The city could increase its trash fee to $15 and maintain the current system it has, but voters in the past election made it clear they want no new taxes or fees, Bell said.
A countywide refuse system would increase the number of households within the trash district making it more attractive for an outside firm to bid on based on the economy of scale, said David Welch, the city’s director of public service.
“If you put them all together, as we’re moving toward a region, it makes a lot of sense for lowering the cost throughout the county,” Welch said.
The mayor sent his proposal to the Lucas County Commissioners, who will ultimately have to decide to implement a countywide trash system.
The 2011 budget also allows for a 50 person fire class and a 25 person police class. The classes will ultimately save the city money by cutting down on overtime costs, Bell said.
Even with the new classes, the budget predicts $7 million in overtime costs for 2011.
“The combination of retirement, along with playing catch up with our police and fire classes is going to mean our overtime is a huge, huge number, but it will start to go down in 2012,” McLean said.
Other savings, while minor, could come from the implementation of an early retirement program, McLean said.
Both Bell and McLean expect things to gradually get better.
“The next year is not going to be easy,” Bell said.  “We still have to be conservative in how we approach these issues. We can’t go off and go into some wild spending frenzy anticipating that the economy is going to change. We have to play it extremely conservative. This budget that we have plays it very conservative.”
Wilma Brown, president of City Council, said she appreciates receiving the budget on time, but doesn’t foresee Council passing a budget until March, she said.
“We’re going to be over this line by line and I’m going to hear about it every day,” Brown said.
Brown would also like to see more details surrounding the refuse-proposal before moving ahead with such a system for the city, she said.
“I want to see details before we let go of our trucks, because once we’re out of it, it’s very hard to get back in it,” Brown said.
According to the city charter, Council has until the end of March to pass a balanced budget.

A website comment on one of my recent columns claimed that I engage in schoolyard games of “all my side is good and pure and righteous, and all others are bad and evil and stupid.”

Anyone who thinks I hold Republicans entirely faultless and Democrats entirely guilty neither knows me nor has any extended familiarity with my writing. It is true that Democrats are by far my primary target. But it’s not because they are Democrats, as if I suffer some kind of allergic reaction to their party affiliation. Rather, it’s because of what their party has embraced. By dint of their controlling Congress during the past four years and the White House the past two, not to mention control of local politics for decades, they made themselves the target by making the party platform their guidance for governing.
I have all the respect in the world for conservative Democrats. There are very few of them, most notably former Senator Zell Miller (D-Georgia). But the Democrat Party itself has adopted a progressive platform that is anathema to conservatives.
There is no denying this. The party supports increased government power and control, even as it comes at the expense of individual liberty. Obamacare, abortion, taxes intended to punish wealth and success, interference with private property rights and insane levels of spending are all embraced by the party. (So too are severe limits on the influence of corporations in the electoral process; but very notably there is total silence on eliminating voter registration fraud.) If you want to get anywhere as a modern Democrat, you’d best agree, and agreement with this platform spelled doom for many careers earlier this month.
Regardless of the various spins, twists and tweaks put on the Republican landslide, it was purely and simply a rejection of this progressive platform. Voters in most of the country finally took a long, hard look at where we were progressing under the Democrats’ leadership, and they didn’t like what they saw. Interesting how a repudiation of an agenda is considered by the lamestream media to be a repudiation only if Republicans lose, no?
While victory wasn’t total, and never should be, the Democrats took a thrashing. Republicans won at least 60 House seats, six Senate seats, five governorships and 680 state legislature seats. But now that they’re there, the Republicans need to know they are now in the hot seat. None of these newly elected Republicans are off the hook, even if many liberals may think they are in the pejorative sense. On the contrary: They are in the spotlight, center stage. They were elected to stop the damage done by the progressives and, to the best of their ability, undo it. If they do not, they will be punished at the polls just as the progressives were this year.
We conservatives learned some hard lessons during George W. Bush’s presidency. Although he did embrace a number of conservative principles, and he certainly evinced more appreciation of and respect for the traditions of the office and the role of commander in chief than his predecessor, he wandered far from the straight and narrow on spending, education, border security and ­—thanks to the Patriot Act — our liberties.
Many of us ignored Bush’s transgressions. We shall not make that mistake again. But we will also not make the mistake of which I was accused, whereby one party is seen as entirely pure and the other entirely foul. We need to be impartial, holding all officeholders from any party equally and individually accountable to the Constitution. Admittedly, the astonishing scope and breadth of the progressive Democrats’ departure from the Constitution invites the kind of obsession with their faults that liberals did then and still do hold toward Bush. But if we focus solely on the Democrats and ignore whatever faults the Republicans commit, we are just as far in error as those who do the opposite.

Thomas Berry, for The Children of Liberty: www.meetup.com/The-children-of-liberty/.

Recently, someone came up to me and said that what Toledo’s poetry community really needs is a good strong voice of dissent, which leads me to my next topic, community responsibility. I’ve been thinking about this a lot since the closing of the Ground Level Coffee House.

To me the word community means more than going to the same local reading every week, the same university sponsored workshop where everyone tries way too hard to be nice to each other, the same blog, internet radio show or even the same local newspaper column. Community means supporting as much as you can regardless of race, gender, geographic region, economic background, or academic standing. Toledo, like most literary communities across the country, and I’m sure around the world, falls short in every area.

How many readings have you been to where poets will drop in just to listen to others? I’d wager to guess, not very many. In fact, many poets won’t even come out if there isn’t open mic, because they’re more interested in the sound of their own voice than something new or potentially inspiring.

How many non university readings do you see students attending? Again probably not very many, because there is no professor there to grade them or for them to suck up to and professors are too tired to come out in many cases, after having to spend countless hours reading papers that offer very little creative energy.

Let’s also talk community on a grander scale. I was at the Downtown library a few weeks ago and a rather prominent member of our literary community said that poets from other cities have nothing on Toledo. Well, that’s true. Poets are doing the bare minimum all over the world and we’re no exception. Many of our poets don’t even want to know what’s going on outside the county. They have no sense of a larger community. Not that they’re alone in that. I recently returned from an out of state reading trip, where attitudes were much the same. In fact, I’ve had that same experience countless times over the years. So how do we fix things?

Well, I could tell you that building a strong poetry community both at home and on a national and international level, begins and ends with you, but you know that already. The true answer isn’t so paint by numbers. If we look around there are plenty of reasons to skip the open mic down the street, like work, family obligations, social anxiety or just plain being exhausted. These are all valid reasons to stay home. I’ve used them myself at times. There are however, alternatives to the local coffee house, things like internet radio or online book clubs, but really I want you to venture out. We need to meet up. Have to spend time with the kids? Take them with you. Sure, some stuff at poetry readings isn’t always family friendly, but then the same could be said about the evening news. Just get involved however you can. A local poet once asked me whether poetry is dying in Toledo and my answer remains, of course not. These things always come in waves. Something does need to change though; we need to think of poetry as being vital to our day to day lives, not just a hobby. In a country where the economy is in the tank, and more people seem to be medicated every day, who couldn’t use a little beauty, just to keep going? I know I could.

So, could we as poetry patrons, have done anything to save a literary venue like the Ground Level? Maybe, maybe not, there are always a number of factors that come into play when you’re talking about small business. The real question is — does it matter? Are these venues vital, not only to our economy, but also to our hearts? Let’s hope so …

Until next time…keep your pencil sharp.

John Dorsey resides in Toledo’s Old West End. His work is widely published and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

After digging first quarter holes in their first four home games of the 2010 season, the Rockets came out guns blazing in their Nov. 17 matchup on ESPN2 and flipped the script on arch-rival Bowling Green at the Glass Bowl as they jumped out to an early 19-0 lead en route to their 33-14 victory over the Falcons.
“I’m very, very proud of the way we started playing this football game,” Toledo head coach Tim Beckman said. “We played 60 minutes of football. It’s not about Tim Beckman. It’s about the Toledo Rocket football program, and I can’t be more proud of the way those guys played today.”

Tim Beckman

A big reason why Toledo was able to bring the Peace Pipe back to campus for the first time since 2006 was due to the playmaking abilities of junior running back Adonis Thomas. The 5-10, 175-lb. product from Newark, N.J. finished with a career-high 235 yards of total offense and one touchdown, also a team season-high individually. Thomas had a career-best 163 yards on 24 carries, also catching five passes for 72 yards.
“I feel relieved,” Thomas said as he answered postgame questions with the Peace Pipe trophy at the podium. “If you can’t be on every cylinder for this game, I don’t know what you’re playing for.”
The Rockets outgained Bowling Green 537-254 in total offense as the Toledo defense stifled any sort of offensive rhythm for the Falcons, allowing just 35 rushing yards on 23 carries while forcing four turnovers. In 2009, fellow Mid-American Conference member Ohio was tied for first in the nation with Texas for turnovers gained and made it to the MAC championship game. Beckman and his staff took note of that stat, and it’s been a point of emphasis for the Toledo defense this season. The Rockets entered the Glass Bowl on Nov. 17 tied for sixth in the country in turnovers gained with 26.
“We’ve harped on that since last January,” sophomore defensive end and Perrysburg graduate T.J. Fatinikun said of getting turnovers. Fatinikun finished the game with six tackles, including a half sack and a forced fumble. “It only made it so much better for us to come out there each game understanding that we have to take the ball away to at least be successful.”
The 75th meeting between UT and B.G. in the annual battle of I-75 was just the second career start for redshirt freshman quarterback Terrance Owens, but his second-consecutive start in the absence of injured sophomore quarterback Austin Dantin, who is out until at least after the regular season finale Nov. 27 against Central Michigan due to a shoulder injury. The Cleveland Glenville product finished 16-of-25 for 225 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
“As he progresses through the seasons and through the games, he’s going to get himself better and better each week,” Beckman said of Owens. “He’s got great talent.”
Another sparkplug on the Toledo offense was sophomore wide receiver and Springfield graduate Eric Page. Page led all receivers with 111 yards on nine catches with one touchdown, also passing for another score on his 35-yard toss to junior wide receiver Tim Cortazzo at the 7:14 mark of the first quarter which put the Rockets up 19-0. With the performance, Page now ranks in sixth place in career pass reception yardage at Toledo with 2,113 thus far.
“Eric just makes plays,” Beckman said. “When we need a play to be made, Eric seems to make those plays.”
The Rockets are now 7-4 overall with a 6-1 MAC record after the win, while Bowling Green fell to 2-9 with a 1-6 mark in conference play. Toledo’s 19-point victory over the Falcons was its’ largest in the rivalry since 2000, when it defeated Bowling Green 51-17. Of all the positives that came out of this game for the Rockets, perhaps the biggest is that they are now one step closer to securing a bowl bid if they take down the Chippewas (2-5, 3-8 MAC) next week.
Several representatives from the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl were on hand for the triumph over the Falcons, a good indication of their interest in Toledo being a strong candidate to participate in the Dec. 26 contest at Ford Field.