Dayton

(gonna make the turn tomorrow)

There’s something about leaving a place, moving on ... As I was setting out I invoked the memory of many people I had known who had died to watch over me. It’s my way of praying. My mother’s 2 sisters, Louise and Mary B, were put in charge of making sure I was safe. My cousin Doug was in charge of making sure the car ran ok. Sister Charles Benedict, my old high school Latin teacher was to take care of Jubilee.
I’m in Dayton tonight with my cousins, Bill and Mary Ellen, whom I’ve known forever. It was an easy drive from Greenville. The land undulates more as you get into Indiana, and I recognized that this was all old territory for me. Coming through Indianapolis I remembered the Indiana State Fair of 1964 when I saw the Beatles perform.
The winter of 1972 when I was working in Chicago and John was still at the University of Dayton. Many weekends I would drive from Chicago to Dayton, once during a snowstorm. I could barely see so I just stayed in the wake of a big truck and let him lead the way.

Anyway, I got to Dayton early and stopped by the University of Dayton. At first I didn’t recognize the place. I was only here for 1 1/2 years, but I sure don’t remember it being this pretty.



I first met my husband John in front of this house - the house on the right (I think). John was living in the house and his roommate, Frito, left the cutest little black puppy, Kilo, out in front. It was the dog that I fell in love with first! I remember climbing out on the roof to have a cigarette - the summer of 1970. The house looks better now than it did back then.
This is the dirty deli. It looks the same as it did back then.

And this, my dear readers, is where my husband and I first kissed. A bell tower (Carillon Park) on the banks of the Miami River.