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| Neighbor, friend Hank Ceccoli will be missed |
My old friend and good neighbor Hank Ceccoli passed away Sunday evening after a battle with cancer. His wife Rosie had taken wonderful and constant care of him in these final weeks, assisted by their kids, grandkids (even  great-grandkids) and other relatives.For many years I have enjoyed talking to Hank about neighborhood and township events. He had a great memory of how things “used to be” in the township and he and Rosie were always gracious and hospitable when I would stop to chat. They were proud of their children and took pride in relating what was happening in their family. Also, I will always be grateful for the many years Hank plowed out my driveway when snow piled up and drifted. I could count on having a clear driveway before I had to leave for work. I will surely miss Hank and his friendship and also will miss his honest, straightforward comments. He was a great guy. The neighborhood will not be the same without him. It seemed good to get a bit of warmer weather last weekend after that intense cold we had had for a while. The temperatures, though still low, rose enough to produce weather that seemed almost “balmy” after all the snow, wind and very low temperatures we had been experiencing. Conditions of snow and ice slow down my walking quite a bit. When I see a very young person hurrying along in slippery conditions I remember that I used to be able to do that, too, and continue along just taking my time. I did read a flyer about walking safely in that kind of weather. It said that we should take small steps and keep the knees bent a little. I tried it and it seemed rather awkward … but I’m going to keep at it until it feels more comfortable. And that reminds me that by the time you read this it is possible that Donna Hamann will have had surgery for replacement of both of her knees. Donna, who lives in Port Clinton, has had difficulty walking and mobility issues for a long time. She is scheduled for the first procedure on Jan. 19 and for the second one three days later, both at St. Charles Hospital in Oregon. So she will probably be in the hospital while you readers are looking at this column. Why not send Donna a card to let her know you are thinking of her? I celebrated a birthday with family members at Dianna’s Restaurant on Friday night and on Saturday night by feasting on spare ribs at the New Riegel Café. That’s my all-time favorite place for ribs. I asked the waitress how long the place had been in business and she said 56 years! I have not been going there that long — but it has been many years, decades, certainly. The ribs there are wonderful and have a different flavor than anywhere else. The leftovers were great at home for Sunday night supper after being heated in the microwave. Yum. So I did very little cooking over the weekend. It was great! Last week in this column I wrote about seeing 21 deer and did not say where they were. Lots of folks who read about it thought they were near my house, but, in actuality, the two herds (12 deer in one and nine deer in the other) were in southern Seneca County, north of the village of Republic. These deer appeared to have been “spooked” by something and were traveling from one area of cover to another. To do so they had to cross a big open field and I watched them for a long way. They were beautiful. It may have been the first day of muzzle-loading season … so there were probably very good reasons for the deer to be on the move. There have been numerous deer in my yard at home, too, although I have not seen them. But for several days I saw fresh tracks every morning and began looking for the deer at dusk and in the early mornings. So far I have not had even a glimpse of them. These deer seemed to be hanging around under the big oak tree in the front yard. I’ve since learned that deer love acorns so they must have been rooting around in the snow to find those special treats. In talking to my son I learned that the deer tend to gather in herds at this season of the year and that it is fairly easy to see a number of them together. Maybe a little research is in order — because I’d really like to know more about them. The news coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake is heart-wrenching. If you want to donate money for relief efforts, you might want to contact the local office of the American Red Cross or of any mainline church. For example, the national office of the United Methodist Church has already established a special fund to collect money to assist in relief efforts there. Local churches will forward your money on to help. And, in addition, there will be efforts from charitable organizations to assist. Just call and ask how you can help. Today (Monday) there were televised reports that 7,000 American military troops have been sent in. Let us all hope that this will stabilize the situation. Remember that old Christmas greeting cards are needed for craft projects for kids. If you can bring them to me, I’ll see that they get to the right place to be of help. Call 419-734-2753 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for information. The Well Workplace newsletter had a good article in the last edition about the healthful benefits of walking. From it and from other sources of information, it’s quite easy to see that walking may be a good way for most people not only to feel better but also to improve their physical condition. Walking is an easy way to get good exercise, but be sure to ask your doctor first if walking is right for you. You will not need special equipment but should wear good shoes and be appropriately dressed for the weather if you intend to walk outdoors. Stretch a little and warm up a bit before taking off. First walk slowly for five minutes, then speed up a bit for the major part of your walk, finish by cooling down with another slow walk for five minutes. Make sure that you do your own research before you start any exercise program. There may be very good reasons why walking is not for you. But for many people it is the “simplest, most accessible form of exercise.” On one day early this week the Cleveland Mid-American Boat Show (running Jan. 15-24) donated $1 from each admission ticket purchased to the Ohio State university Sea Grant program. The show takes place at the I-X Center, 6200 Riverside Drive, Cleveland. It is open to the public. This donation was good news for the Sea Grant program which has its campus on Gibraltar Island at Put-in-Bay. Studies are conducted there in all things relating to the Lake Erie. Lake Erie, the warmest, shallowest, and biologically most productive of all the Great Lakes, is Ohio’s most valuable natural resource. More than 50 percent of all the fish caught in the Great Lakes come from Lake Erie. That’s amazing, isn’t it, when our Lake is so small compared to three others? Sea Grant not only studies the Lake but also undertakes projects to improve the lake’s water quality and fish habitat. Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island is the nation’s oldest freshwater biological field station. It was the base for the research that saved the health of Lake Erie during the 1970s. So we all need to be supportive of the Sea Grant program as it definitely has a positive impact on our area economy.
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