January Part Two:  On to Canton

April 11, 2015

From Midland I was headed to Canton, and for me I always think of this as the Akron area.   I was born in Akron, and lived there until the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in high school.  Not fair to Canton to be sure, since it is its own city with its own proud history; especially as the burial place of President McKinley and the home of the NFL Hall of Fame.  My years in this area, though, are colored through the lens of going to the AKRON/canton Airport.  Akron was the Rubber Capital of the World.  (Tires, not Trojans…)  The University of Akron had the Acme Zip Game held at the old Rubber Bowl (Seriously the real name, and again, no double entendre intended!) The All-American Soap Box Derby, and the home Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous fame.

I do not usually go to NE Ohio, unless there is a reason.  My dad is buried there, and I do try to stop by his grave in my comings and goings.  In winter it easy to excuse not wanting to go north, but really, it is an internal rule for me most times a year.  So the truth is that there is more to it than a cranky distaste of cold.  For me, it is a sadness and a longing for people long gone, and to be completely honest, a longing for a somewhat different childhood.  Most people could probably feel that way for one reason or another.

On this trip, I drove along the Turnpike, cutting along the top of the state, not far from Lake Erie.  I started my commentary of the Midland/Canton trip noting that this winter wasn’t as bitter as the 2013/2014 late fall & winter.  And that is true.  What was thought to be a moderate winter, was only a false impression, and it did turn to be a long late winter.

 

While not as bad as the year before, the season did become bitter and cold and snowy.

Earlier in 2014, on a pretty and sunny early spring day, I did have a chance to stop by my dad’s grave. There are actually two markers.  The original was the one provided since dad had been a veteran in the WWII era.  (Even though his service postdated the war.)

Dad’s Bronze Marker

The second was a marble stone we got a few years after he passed.  It seemed more fitting in a way, since it was from us.

At that spring visit, we talked the one sided conversation, and I said a prayer.  On this trip in January, it was already dark by the time I was near Akron.  With snow, bitter wind and darkness, no visit on the way to Canton, Ohio.

The next day, after my business was over, the weather was brighter in the afternoon, but there was another storm coming.  So in the end, it was time to leave, and time to get home to Cincinnati.

The visit to the cemetery would have to wait.  Next time.