WIXY's Gone Bananas

Today is Opening Day 2008. Not the same for me this year. It used to be one of Ricky's favorite days. Win or lose, I would hear from him. Indians just scored three runs in the 8th with a bases loaded double from Casey Blake. Ricky would have loved that . Score now Indians 10, White Sox 7. We went to the home opener in 1982. It had snowed for several days and was cold this Saturday at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. It was a stadium that had a special air about it. You could smell it from a ways back. But it did have one thing. Major League Baseball . It was the Cleveland Indians versus the Texas Rangers. The Indians were a very w oeful team in those days. Some seasons they had decent pitching and no hitting. Other seasons they had fairly good hitting and no pitching. Front office would usually trade one for another. Those days the Indians were the farm team for the rest of baseball. Texas won that game that day 8-3. Thank you baseball-almanac.com . The thing I do remember in the game ...

With winter over and days longer we can all get more exercise in. That, along with eating right can help us all lose some pounds and start to maintain a healthier lifestyle. A blog I have notice increase in popularity among those I pay regular visits to is calle d "A Day in the Zone." The author of this blog, Diamond , is a young mother who is trying to lose weight and is bringing us all along for the journey in hopes that we join her in this more than worthy cause. One thing Diamond and I have in common is we are both quality inspectors. We both get a good deal of walking in during the day but we also get a more than ample amount of sitting time. I have sent people Diamond's way in the past and they have either left favorable remarks on her blog, or here. The reason the remarks are left is because she has a quality product there(maybe ISO 9002) There is something for everybody there. She gives weight loss tips and bargins she has found. We also get a peek into her person...

Most people who are regular readers of this blog know when I use the term Evil Big Box Store(tm) , I am referring to Wal*Mart Supercenter . Most people also realize that I do not use this term with any malice. I use it as a tongue in cheek reference. It seems that every time Wal*Mart plans to open a new store, there is always predictions of doom and gloom. It will bring on mass unemployment, and close establishments that have been in business since the Mayflower docked. Oh yeah, it will also cause teenagers to have acne. When the Wadsworth, Ohio Wal*Mart Supercenter was getting ready to open, the publisher of the free weekly newspaper in our area, The Post, wrote a series of columns criticizing the decision made by Wal*Mart to build a supercenter in that area. He told of mom and pop stores closing because they couldn't afford to compete. He also said that he wouldn't shop at Wal*Mart, and would patronize the smaller, independently owned businesses. That's all well and goo...

For all those who are curious about what the rage is about Barberton chicken, as a public service, I will provide you with a link to the Barberton Magics website . Here you will find the recipes for the chicken, hot sauce and cole slaw pictured in the post about our gathering last night. There is even a recipe for a healthy alternative to the traditional recipe for the chicken, for those not willing to throw caution to the wind. bon appetit

I am slowly, but surely getting my "mojo" back. I should be back to visiting and commenting on all the blogs again on a regular basis very soon. It's been a very long two months, but I made it through, thanks in a large part to most of the people who are regular readers of these words. Many things that can be seen in my comments as well as other blogs along with quite a few behind the scenes things done for me have been key to me getting to this point. Once again thank all of you. And let's continue to pray for one another.

I think every boy growing up in Northeast Ohio since the 1970's who has any aspirations of sports broadasting has wanted to be Joe Tait. Joe has been the voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers since their inception in 1971. Along the way he has had to describe a lot of lousy basketball, but he has been able to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear many times. Many of us in our late forties on up can remember calls like "Bobby Smith with the ball. To the line, to the lane. BINGO! " We can also remember many times when Joe has taken referees to task on their calls, and taken team management to task on some of their decisions. Instead of me doing a hack job of a post, I will give a couple of links to some good articles/posts which I have read in the past few days. Tim Lones , in Cleveland Classic Media , gives his account here . Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who by the way will become a featured link in both of my blogs in the next few days, wrote, as usual, a g...

In a meeting weeks in the making, three members of the blogging underground have met at Milich's Village Inn, 4444 Cleveland Massillon Road, Norton, Ohio. 74WIXYgrad, of WIXY's Gone Bananas fame, Struke, of Media Matters Fame, and WZZP, all around good guy, and frequent visitor of many blogs, along with Mrs74WIXYgrad, all had a good time while enjoying a dinner of the succulent fried chicken which has earned Milich's the reputation of having some of the best chicken around. During this evening's dinner, a call was made to Liquid, of Liquid Illuzion fame. I think she wants to be here for the next blogger's convention. Here is a picture of the fare we enjoyed at the Village Inn; Chicken, french fries, cole slaw, and hot sauce, which is actually spanish rice with an attitude.

PILGRIM IS BACK . After an absence of a month, our friend from New Brunswick, Pilgrim is back at the keyboard, and working to catch up with all of us. Welcome back good friend!

To one of the best friends of most of the people on my blogroll: We hope you are taking care of matters at hand and everything is going ok. We all miss your insights and hope you come back soon. We all know you are praying for us and I am praying for you too. Yours in Christ, Cliff PS Thank you for the comment you left on one of the posts I wrote in tribute to my brother.

I posted this several months ago on Seek Him First. I think that this video should be viewed by all as a message that we should be willing to reach out to everybody. I would like to thank Liquid for taking the initiative of posting similar messages. Click pause on the music player so you can view the video.

This past October I went to the doctor and got a flu shot, as recommended by my primary care physician. I am now here to say that it worked. I was off work today because I have the flu. Of course compared to everything else that has been happening, I'd say this was minor. I did have to go over to Evil Big Box Store #2966 to get some items. After I left there I went to take some pictures of this mailbox, that I've seen for years, but not really noticed until I made the acquaintance of Liquid . I took it with her in mind. I just don't have her eye for being able to find beauty in junk. If I did, I'd be taking pictures of the WIXYmobile everyday. To me this picture says, "Honey throw a load in the washer, and while you're out there, check the mail."

On occasion, I have heard from people regarding the music player on my blog, and it's lack sometimes of Christian music. I now have added a music player on my faith based blog, "Seek Him First." the player there will have only Christian music. I will not eliminate the praise and worship music here, but you can go there to hear more of it.

Cruising the radio message boards today, I was hit with the loss of another part of my life. This time it wasn't a relative. Not even anyone I ever met. John Larsh, also known as Jack Armstrong, or Big Jack, a late evening dsc jockey on WIXY/1260 and WKYC/1100 in the mid 60's passed away this past Saturday. I'm sure there will be much written about him and even more memories posted on the boards, as he touched many lives while on the airwaves. My main memory was his boisterous delivery. I also think he set a record for most words said in a minute. I remember him harrassing his newsman, Ken Courtright, right before the news. The station was owned and operated by NBC, and in those days the stations took their news more seriously. I mentioned that in the comment section of Ohio Media Watch about a year or so ago and Alan Courtright, Ken's son, sent me a nice email telling me about his(Alan) sitting in the studio when the harrassing happened. It was all done in good fun. Bu...

A while back I wrote in my "I like Sindi because....." post that she makes a mean pot of potato soup. When I wrote that there were inquiries in my comment section about obtaining the recipe. She responded that she didn't have a recipe per say, but went into the Life is a Roller Coaster test kitchen and paid special attention as she cooked a special pot for her family. She even posted pictures of this culinary delight. In the post, Sindi gives variations by other members of the Terre Haute gang and assures us that it's all good. If you are now hungry, click here , and in Sindi's words he he he he he. And keep in mind, all ingredients can be purchased at your local Evil Big Box Store. Folks in Terre Haute can go to Evil Big Box Store #4235 or #1310. Question for Kasper: Do you still have to do the squiggily? Cliff Note:The link is fixed and you will now get to Sindi's post by clicking there or here.

I started out writing a "poor, poor Cliff" post. I deleted it. I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself. I'm sure most of you are tired of it too. Things at the WIXYranch have pretty much hit rock bottom. So unless someone is down here with a jackhammer, all I can say is the only direction I can go is up. Today is Easter, a day that is a celebration of newness of life. Opening day is next week. Warm weather will be here soon and I can ride my bicycle soon. I need to, and I will, drop some pounds. I will also write about it. You can also look for some springtime in Wayne County, Ohio photos here. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Are you all with me?

Anyone who listens to Dave Ramsey has heard Dave say when asked how he's doing, "I am better than I deserve." Anyone who has read my blog in the past few months has caught me saying "Why me Lord?" I was going to take some time away from the keyboard, as I was worried that I was going to drive my readers away because of my tales of woe, especially after I sent out an email to one of my dearest friends which ended with the words "My life sucks." My wife had called me and told me she was having chest pains and shortness of breath, which ended up being pulled muscles in her chest wall. I've been wondering why my life has been going the way it has in the past few months. I guess I've been attending the wrong church. I need to go to one where the pastor can stand in the pulpit and tell me I'm scum, but I digress. In my self pity this morning, I'm reminded as to why we observe this day, Good Friday. We observe this day because of what Jesus di...

Okay, so I am working today while it's raining outside. How do I know that? It's also raining inside. Today was also the day for our monthly safety class, which is mandated by whomever does this in the federal government. The good thing about this is it is an hour away from the job. The bad thing about this it takes an otherwise productive hour out of my life. I do get some exercise during this, though. My neck gets a good workout during these meetings where we get to watch videos that we watch so often that we can say the dialog. These are important but I wish we could at least see them in a room that has a little better circulation. Time for work to end. I get to the parking out and the weather is betwixt and between. It doesn't know if it wants to rain or snow. Ah, March in Northeast Ohio. While in the WIXYmobile, I notice an idiot light flashing on my dash. I need oil, so off to Evil Big Box Store #2966. While there I also got a Mrs74WIXYgrad survival kit-Reeses Peanut...

Bear with me as it's been 2 weeks since I've done one of these posts. I got to know Amel through the Terre Haute gang. Amel, however, doesn't live within walking distance of Terre Haute. She lives in Finland and was the poster that made my blog intercontinental. She used to be the youngest one on my blogroll until a certain daughter of mine decided to blog away. Amel came to Finland, which is where some of my ancestors came from, by way of Indonesia. She has been in the land of all too cold for a little over a year now. She first come my way, reading my Seek Him First blog and told me she likes to read the faith based blogs because she likes to learn from them. She is also one whom I forward my Turning Point devotionals to right after I receive them every day, and has returned very nice comments about how she needed that. Amel is very devoted to her husband Arttu, as he is quite often a subject of her posts. She also loves the family she has married into and shows love a...

The last two weeks have been more bearable because of all of you. From the first email from Brenda and the first response from YEKIMI, to all the emails, responses on my posts and signing of the guest book, you have all provided comfort to me and my family. I also want to thank everybody who stopped here in the past two weeks and got to know my brother and reminded me that he was a very special guy. There is still an empty space in all our lives, but it's good to know that the muse allowed me to share Ricky with the blogosphere. I want to thank all those who left a comment or sent an email encouraging me to keep posting about Ricky. From the bottom of my heart....And from me and my family. YOU GUYS ARE THE GREATEST!

First , I want to give a very heart felt thank you to those who left comments on the posts of the last two weeks. Kathy and I miss Ricky, but I feel that he was assisting me in my blogging for the past 13 days. I wish everybody who reads my words could have met my brother. Since most of the posts were personal, most of my custom language e.g. WIXYmobile, Mrs74WIXYgrad, WIXYjr., etc were absent in my stories. I'm hoping to slide back into my persona. And WIXYcam photos may make their appearance again this week. Congratulations to Liquid for posting number 1000. Leave it to the blue one to do it twice as good as me. She's one tough cookie. And while I'm at it and seeing it's St. Patrick's Day, congratulations to our own green nurse, Bella for post number 100. And another congratulations to our Italian Leprechaun for passing her certification exam for Inpatient Obstectrics.

Lisa Porter was one of the supervisors at Autumnwood, the nursing facility where Ricky was living the last four years of his life. She was on medical leave when she received the news on March 4 that Ricky had passed away. The following was a letter that she was going to read at the memorial service that had been scheduled last Saturday, March 8. We had to postpone the memorial because of the blizzard that crippled the area last Saturday. Ricky was my friend and buddy. My bestest buddy at Autumnwood. He was special. He considered me his confidant and guardian angel. We both loved the Cleveland Indians and many evenings I would fins myself after I clocked out sitting on the edge of his bed rooting for our beloved Indians to take the win. We had many conversations about his life, present and past. His memory simply amazed me. He remembered his complete family down to nieces and nephews birthdates and years they were born. Sometimes even the day.He remembered when he got sick and the exact...

After Mom passed, it was suggested that we petition the court for guardianship of Ricky. Since my sister lived with us, all our attorney needed to do was send a registered letter to our half brother, whom I hadn't seen since 1999. He signed for the letter, but never responded, so the path was clear. The day of the hearing, we went to court in Wooster, and everything there went smooth. The judge asked Ricky if there was anything he wanted to say, and Ricky asked "Are we done?" The judge said yes, and Ricky said "Good. I want to go to Wal*Mart." There were three things Ricky never forgot: People's ages, their birthdays, or their phone number. Of course, he could dial our number in his sleep. There were three numbers we never gave him, our cell phone numbers and my work number. He would call the house whenever he needed anything. One time he called our house, got the answering machine and left a two word message-"Oh sh*t." This was while mom was still...

This is a poem written by Rita Flinn, who drove the bus to Nick Amster workshop in Wooster, Ohio. Ricky looked forward to boarding the bus for workshop every day.

I am reposting my Mother's Day post from last year, as I see it fit to insert it here, after my last post. I really looked up to my mom and still do as she had many challenges in her life, but never gave up. This post was originally written on May 13, 2007. For the fourth year running, I have been unable to wish my mom a happy Mother's Day, as she passed away in April, 2004. But I did take the mother of my children out for dinner last night and made dinner today-ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, and biscuits. As some are aware, I do like to watch NASCAR. One thing I've admired about NASCAR is that they have not raced on Mother's Day, but today is different as it rained last night and postponed it until today. Today, the command to start was given by 21 of the driver's mothers. Memories of my own mother: To your left is a picture of me with my mother on my wedding day in 1979. I've made the comment before that my mom was my biggest fan. She gave me a lot of...

My dad passed away September 13, 2000. After this I helped my mom take care of things as far as decision making was, including going to plan meetings for Ricky. In 2002, the workers at the home where he was living at the time was asking what they could do for Ricky, as he was getting bored with the everyday life in the nursing home. I had worked at a facility which housed severe to profound mentally retarded individuals for 12 years, so I had a suggestion based on my experience. I suggested that employment at a sheltered workshop be looked into. Ricky was then placed at Parma Adult Workshop and not only did he have something to do during the week, but he got a small paycheck as well. He used to get upset when there was no work to do, but got to interact with others closer to his age. everything worked well until the fall of 2003. My mother's health was gradually deteriorating. I had gone with her to the doctor's one day. The doctor called me into the hall and told me that she d...

Right after Ricky's 41st birthday my parents made a very difficult, but necessary decision. They could no longer take care of him, so Ricky was placed in a nursing home. A few were checked out and eventually he was placed in one in North Royalton, Ohio. Ricky was upset about it at first, but found out he had more freedom to move around than what he had while at home. He had some activities to participate in and people he could visit with. And mom and Deirdre went to visit about 2-3 times a week. One more thing he was given after he got there was a TV/VCR combo, along with some of his tapes from home. And Ricky, being the creature of habit he was, always watched his Saturday morning cartoons. the staff soon become familiar with his laugh which, as it always had been, was a very loud, very hearty laugh. Mom come to visit one day and checked in at the nurses station and was told "Your son really enjoys his cartoons, doesn't he?" Shortly after the move to the home, Ricky ...

Today is our 29th wedding anniversary. I can tie this into my current story line by saying that Kathy had become both a friend and a guardian angel as well as a sister in law to Ricky over the years. Ricky liked her first and foremost, because she was my wife. Kathy would take time to listen to what Ricky had to say when others were too busy for him. Ricky knew that Kathy liked iced tea. One time when he knew that we were coming up for a holiday cookout, he made 27 gallons of sun tea. I guess he was concerned we would run out. Ricky always made Kathy feel welcome when we come up. In Ricky's later years, Kathy would look out for Ricky's needs and sometimes go to the nursing home and take him to Wal-Mart for whatever he would want or need. There were times after we were legal guardians that one of us would have to go to an appointment for him or on occasion, go to the emergency room to meet the ambulance. One time Kathy got to the hospital, back to Ricky's room and he told th...

Ricky had always been a very active person, sometimes perpetual motion personified. I had eventually moved to Rittman and was 40 miles away from the rest of the family, with my own growing family to raise. My older and younger sister also lived at home, so they took care of Ricky's needs. Bev also had two children living there, so Deirdre, our younger sister took care of Ricky's needs. But Deirdre started having seizures too. At the time they were somewhat manageable. Deirdre also had a part time job at K-Mart. Ricky had plenty of people to take care of him, and my mom would make sure he had all he wanted. As I posted on Seek Him First, he loved going to church, and folks from the church took him to baseball games and movies. In August, 1986, things will change for Ricky. I will give my view. My two girls were spending the night with my parents at their camper, which was at Sleepy Hollow Lake, in Brunswick. That afternoon after I got home from work, Kathy and I along with Adam,...

Here is one of your angels in the outfield!

These are the scenes that I saw looking out my door this morning. We got slammed overnight. We knew this was coming, but I was hoping that this would be the storm that Cincinnati, or Buffalo would get instead. I think they got it also. We are supposed to have Ricky's memorial service this afternoon. We still will be at the church if anybody intends to come. My family never were too keen on funerals and memorial services and I can imagine this conversation going on between Ricky and our mom this past Wednesday: Ricky: I guess Clifford and Kathy are going to have a memorial service for me this Saturday. Mom: I told them not to make a big deal out of this and they didn't have to. Ricky: Well, you know, I still owe Clifford for the time he told me he threw the elbow grease on the truck. And there also was the time he sent me for a blivot when we were in boy scouts. And a few other times.... Mom: Alright. Alright. What do you want to do? Ricky: You know we do have connections now. A...

We had moved to the west side of Cleveland, Ohio after Ricky graduated from high school. Ricky was unable to work a traditional job but my parents did get him into a sheltered workshop for a time. On my days off, I would listen to what he was saying about his work. He was proud of what he was doing. On his time off, he would keep himself occupied with the sports section and sports magazines. He would devour them and be able to talk sports with most who could understand him, as he had a habit of talking too fast. I would play on his love of Cleveland sports and for his birthday one year I took him to a Cleveland Browns game. We took the rapid transit into downtown Cleveland. Before the transit got to the Terminal Tower, Ricky went into a seizure. I got him off the train, but he was still confused and tried to pull me back on while the train was moving. Oh, that day the Browns beat the New York Jets and we did enjoy the game. There were also times we went to Cleveland Municipal Stadium t...

This is an addition to the last post. I graduated from high school in 1974. After that, my dad wouldn't allow Ricky to take part in extracurricular activities at school. But he was going to the Medina County Joint Vocational School which opened in the fall of 1974. While Ricky went to the JVS, there were the cruel people taunting him, hoping he would have seizures. But there were also people who would stick up for him. One girl from our home district wrote a letter in the school paper wondering why these students would be so mean that they would want to cause someone to have a seizure. I found out some of the students from Diversified Health Occupations would also help him out after having a seizure. I found this out after I started dating one of the students. This student would later become my wife, Kathy, and his last guardian angel while alive. Small world.

Most folks knew him as Richard, Rich, or Richie. We had a cousin named Ricky, so some of the relatives called him "Little Ricky" even though he was 4 months older than his cousin. But when my dad first called him "Dick," my mom put her foot down(in her words) so the only one who got away with that was the high school basketball coach, Mr. Keating. My brother practically worshiped the ground I walked on, and sometimes that was very annoying, as he was my shadow as we were growing up. I look back and realize that that is the greatest tribute someone could give another person. I could predict what he would become interested in, because it would what I had most recently become interested in. Only thing is he would become more fanatical about it. I got interested in baseball and a year later you would think Ricky swallowed the record book, he would know so much. I would get Batman and Superman comic books, next thing you know Ricky would have his own collection of comics...

I have my own tribute for my little brother that I'm working on in draft. I hope to post it in the next few days. Please feel free to sign the guest book. Obituaries Richard P. Feightner (September 18, 1958 - March 4, 2008) Guest Book | Sign Guest Book Richard P. "Rick" Feightner, 49, of Rittman died Tuesday, March 04, 2008 at Autumnwood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. He was born September 18, 1958 in Medina, OH to Kenneth P. and Noreen G. (Babcock) Feightner and lived in Cleveland before moving to Rittman 4 years ago. He graduated from Highland High School in 1976 and was a former student at Nick Amster Sheltered Workshop in Wooster. Surviving are his brothers, Clifford (Kathy) Feightner of Rittman, and Allen Short of Cleveland; sister, Deirdre Feightner of Rittman; nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 4:0...

September 18, 1958 - March 4, 2008 Memorial service March 8, 2008 4:00PM South Main Street Church of God 261 South Main Street Rittman, Ohio 44270

I received a call less than an hour ago from the nursing home. My brother passed away. I may be away from the keyboard the next little bit, so I wanted you to know. I thank you in advance for all your prayers. Life can be so unfair. Cliff

Cliff Note : To commemorate post number 500, I want to pay homage to one of the people who were a large part of me making it to this number. I want to start this post with this fact: Most folks who read my blog that reside outside of Northeast Ohio would not be reading it if I hadn't discovered Liquid last June. Through Liquid Illuzion , I discovered Pilgrim, Frasypoo, Bella, Amias, Mel Kaye , and Ch elle . Through those blogs I discovered others and others discovered me. and I have had the privilege of introducing Liquid to my base here in Northeast Ohio. Those who I personally know that read my blog have mentioned that Liquid Illuzion is one of their blog stops after checking what I have to write. Liquid's fans include my oldest daughter, Martha . A great friendship begins: Lets back up to last July. I was surfing the blogs by clicking the "next blog" button. I come up to this blog called Liquid Cowgirl(this blog has since been retired). My first mention of Li...

My oldest daughter, Martha has started writing a new blog called Welcome to my Crazy Life . She has commented several times on this blog and has taken me to task via the comment section on occasion. She currently has 4 posts, which means that she is only 495 posts behind me. Martha also wanted to correct me on a statement I made in my previous post. Her youngest child, Silas, had his birthday on January 25. Welcome to my Crazy Life, is a view of my daughter's life and she tells about her children(as if that's not been done before) work, and gives tips on other things. Martha does check out the other blogs when she gets the chance, so if you get a chance, check her blog out.

One of the only things I am thankful for about February this year is the fact that it was the shortest month. Well that, and both my grandsons had birthdays in February.... And Mrs74 come out of the accident with just a concussion.... And WIXYjr is better and getting the help he needs...We are all still alive....I have a job......I have all you for friends.... That should take care of some of the comments. The month ended up with our checking account being overdrawn, which was a result of my stupidity. That and running out of gas probably is the adult equivalent of peeing your pants. As we are talking about the solutions, we get a call from the nursing home where my younger brother lives. He had been slumped over in his wheelchair and was unresponsive. We had expected to get there and see him in a vegetative state. As we are his guardians, the nurse had to go over options with us, so Mrs74 and I were discussing this on our way to the home. We got there and he was very lethargic but a...