Mark’s Musings – July 8, 2015

Mark Fortune

Spectacular. Terrific. Awesome. That’s what we heard about the fireworks show held this year at the Airport. Sure, there were some issues with traffic flow and a huge, almost overwhelming attendance that was unexpected. Can we move past that – despite the frustrations it may have caused – and yes, I was caught up in it too. But it was a pleasant evening and it wasn’t raining so you could roll your windows down and enjoy the evening while you moved forward in traffic. Instead of focusing on the negative stuff – why can’t we appreciate the time and energy that went into making this event happen and all of the folks that volunteered THEIR Saturday to ensure that our community even had a fireworks display to attend. That’s what you should be talking about in your conversations – so quit ranting about the negatives and be grateful for something that was FREE except for a donation if you wished to make one. Because the last time I checked fireworks are not free and they do not launch themselves without help. So I say kudos to everyone involved and thanks for giving up part of your Saturday to do this.

The U. S. women won the world cup in soccer on Sunday with a sounding defeat of Japan – beating the team that took the crown from them in 2011. Great job Ladies!

Can anyone catch the Cardinals this year in baseball? At 53 wins they stand head and shoulders above any other team in the wins column. To give you a comparison – the Chicago Cubs – who are typically out of the race at the All Star break – are having a pretty good season with 44 wins as of July 5 and are still 8.5 games out of first place. The Tribe, up against first place Kansas City – who used to be the stepping stone of the central division – has 46 wins and Cleveland is 9 back with 38. Cleveland just can’t score when scoring is needed it seems. And now the next series is against Houston – also in first. Maybe the break will be good for the Tribe.

Up next on the local scene is the 2015 version of Ohio Chautauqua which will be at the fairgrounds starting Tuesday evening and running through Saturday, July 11. You can enjoy some really cool first person stories, great music from local entertainers like Jerry Weaver, Wildwood Music, the Coshocton Community Band and others. The Community Band starts at 6 p.m. on Friday – all others at 6:30 p.m. In addition to the evening festivities Ohio Chautauqua brings the opportunity for youth and adult workshops. Youth workshops are at the library at 10:30 a.m. and adult workshops are at COTC at 2:00 p.m. And yes, the public can attend these workshops.

If you have never attended an Ohio Chautauqua event we encourage you to go. The performers are all first rate and the atmosphere inside the big red and white tent at the fairgrounds is just pretty neat.

Category: Mark's Musings