2015

March 21, 2015

The post-game press conference was over, and the 10,000 spectators had gone home. I stood outside the University of Dayton with Mark Kennard and we talked quietly about an amazing season. It was sad that it came to an end, in the Regional finals, just one step away from the state tournament, on such a controversial last-second call.

This season was made so sensational in large part because of Mark's son Luke, who had already committed to Duke. He was Ohio's Mr. Basketball for the second year in a row, drawing media attention from everywhere. But it was extra special because his teammates were his friends from when they all were kids -- Evan Crowe, Jake Ridell, and Matt Thompson, and then Austin Daliboa moved in and fit right in.

But it had been a ride, for sure...

Maybe, somewhere, someone might say they appreciated how I followed the 2014-15 Franklin H.S. basketball team on its incredible journey through what has to be one of the best years in town history. I had a front row seat and then wrote what I saw and heard, which generated on overwhelming amount of interest. And I appreciate any positive comments about that, for sure.

But let me say, unequivocally, I was the one who was blessed by the experience. I didn't score a point and didn't plan any game strategy, but I felt like I was a part of that team. 

My stories were compiled into a book entitled, "We Are Family, We Are Franklin," and when the book was released in August, I told the people who attended the ceremony that this team would likely celebrate its 25th anniversary on a winter night in the year 2040. Only God knows whether I will be there in person that night. But in another way, through the book and the stories I wrote, I figure I will be there. And it will be my honor to be associated with that team in a small way.

This was an experience I will forever remember, and cherish.

P.S. -- I didn't know it at the time, but the day was coming when I would see Cole Blevins way more than on a Friday night for a basketball game. A year later, he and Chloe would start dating.

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May 9, 2015

In what must be regarded as the wedding of the century, Kim, Chloe and I went to Reynolds Plantation in Georgia for the wedding of Jack Crotty and Courtney McGohan.

By 10 o'clock, when there band finished playing, it was already perhaps the nicest wedding I had ever been to. But then when the fireworks started, well, that was nothing short of over the top.

Fireworks.

Wow. What a night.

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May 15, 2015...The idea was to recognize some of the older members of the Warren County Bar Association in what can be regarded as sort of like a Hall of Fame moment. So that's what we did on this Friday night, recognizing Judge Jim Ruppert, Judge David Batsche, Judge Mark Clark, Magistrate Eddie Lawson, and attorney Jack Hedges. And it was a great night, one I was told meant a great deal to those who participatedThe idea, too, was to combine it with our golf outing, so many of us spent that afternoon at the Shaker Run G.C. I played with Steve Runge and Tom Diehl and I'd like to say we set the world on fire...but we did have a great day.

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November 22, 2015...No one told me you were supposed to invite people to these things. Looking back, it makes perfect sense, because it really gives you an idea how many people will be attending. But, no, we didn't do that. We threw a campaign kickoff event at Heather's Cafe in Springboro and essentially just hoped people would show up. Thankfully, a bunch of people who were a whole lot more savvy than I am stopped by to show support. It lasted two hours, I spoke for only 15 minutes, and yet I don't think I have ever been so exhausted afterward. As I would soon find out, I would feel that after every political event. Good luck!

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December 18, 2015