ideas

Justin Blair, In Memoriam

If I had happened to call Justin this month, I’m sure I would have been happy for him. He made it on his own hundreds of miles from home (from Lima, Ohio to Phoenix, AZ), had a great job as an attorney with a small firm and was in love with a woman he hoped to marry. If I were to guess, I’d say the fiancé was his greatest happiness. After a decade of women being as reckless with his heart as he was with theirs, I imagine some simple love and happiness were just what he was looking for …

Of course, I didn’t call him. In fact, I haven’t talked to him for three years. Part of a pack of fast-friends early in college and later political allies always on the minority side of the debate, we drifted apart toward the end of college …

Instead, Bill Miller called. Another name I hadn’t heard in years – and, when I heard his voice, I was excited to reconnect with an old friend, not prepared for such very, very sad news.

Justin was killed this weekend. A stray bullet. Assailants in a pick-up truck took aim at a Jeep Cherokee and a stray bullet caught the car that Justin was a passenger in. The bullet killed him instantly.

Justin was incredibly thin – about my height, but a more sinewy frame, with a shock of nearly black hair, a sharp nose and Mediterranean skin. Of course, stature is more of the mind than of the body. So, he somehow managed to pull off cruising around the tiny college town in a massive bright-white convertible Caddillac with blood-red seats. A hand-me-down from his father, I think – a big lawyer in a small town, who took us for Cincinnati chili one Spring day in lieu of a rained-out Reds game. Maybe the same spring that we ran around the south green climbing trees for no apparent reason… or maybe the year we were nearly arrested for planting political signs in the right-of-way, or maybe…

Justin was as brash as I was then. Tough on the outside. Endlessly supportive of his friends. Fell easily in love. Said what was on his mind. He could have been my brother in lots of ways … When I called him from Chicago a few years back, it was so easy to fall into the same conversations with him…

My most heartfelt condolences to Justin’s family, his fiancé Toni Stallone and her son. He was a truly generous man who will be greatly missed…

There will be services this Saturday in Lima and next week in Arizona. There are a few people who I’m sure would want to know if I knew how to reach them: Eric Brookes, Kyle Tierney, Steve Bailey, Jeffrey Combs. If you happen to know any of them (would have graduated around 1997) or even have an old OU directory around, please send me any info … (thank you)

Obituary:
JUSTIN DAVID BLAIR, 29, of Phoenix, formerly of Lima, died at 2:19 a.m. Oct. 17, 2004, a victim of a stray bullet in a road-rage shooting, a senseless act of violence.

He was born May 14, 1975, in Lima to James F. and Lena Hefner Blair, who survive.

Justin was a 1993 graduate of Allen East High School, a 1997 graduate of Ohio University and a 2000 graduate of Ohio Northern University College of Law. While at OU, he was active in student organizations and was a two-term president of the Young Republicans Club. He was admitted to the Arizona State Bar in 2000 and was a practicing attorney. He had been employed by the Office of the Public Defender in Maricopa County and most recently was in practice of law with G. David DeLozier P.C. He loved his family, golf, snow skiing and was an avid Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Reds and Buckeyes fan.

Survivors also include a sister, Elizabeth Ann (Brian) Holden; a brother, Thomas James Blair; a niece, Emma Marie Holden; maternal grandparents, Earl and Mary Pulice Hefner; several beloved aunts, uncles and cousins; and his dear friend in Arizona, Toni Stallone and her son Tyler.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, James C. and Emma Helen Lippincott Blair.
Arrangements are incomplete at Chiles & Sons-Laman Funeral Homes, Shawnee Chapel.

In lieu of flowers and blankets, memorial contributions may be made to the Lima Chapter of the Tee-It Up Foundation (for beginning golfers), 2409 Lost Creek Blvd., Lima, OH 45804; or the Allen County Agricultural Society Foundation, 2750 Harding Highway, Lima, OH 45804.

Other articles:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1019phxblair19.html
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=2443889&nav=23KuS6am

posted by Leigh Householder

Ohio University Re-tour

In the spirit of being a tourist in a place I once lived, here are a few updates from last weekend's visit to Athens:

Casa Cantina: hugely renovated, took over Low Key and doubled the size of the cantina. Nice wraparound bar with lots of room for booths, tables, dancing… oddly, one of the new paint colors is exactly the same as fresh paint in The Union (more communism in the little city)
The Union: renovated, painted, not a roach in sight. Shufflers beat me to the bathroom, though
School Kids: closed
The Royals: still together! In fact, playing the grand opening of the new Cantina
House of Love: home again to the seven-toed cat
Burrito Buggy: still proudly serving Athens drunks and hippies
Jefferson Hill: closed to traffic, still daunting for peds

See some pics.

posted by Leigh Householder

wow

…moved from Chicago to Columbus almost a year ago now. We’ve had dinner with the neighbors to the west a few times and J has talked to the neighbors to the east, but I hadn’t really met them. Just knew there was a nice woman named Darci there who owned the place with her girlfriend or partner (not sure which), Tammy. So, J’s over there for whatever reason (likely the giant, pesky hedge we have in common that seems to require synchronized trimming), and learns that Darci works at a veterinary clinic and is a part-time petsitter. Excellent news.

Planning to duck out of town for one night, we ask Darci to petsit the herd. She graciously comes over to check out the homestead and meet the pets. We’re talking – I’m lightly distracted by her perfect teeth and excellent haircut. Then she starts in with the questions – where are you from?, what college?, me, too – did you live at X, know Y, etc. Finally, we figure it out – we lived down the hall from one another and shared warm beers and friends freshman year at OU.

Wow. From long, bigger white blond hair to a sexy little cropped cut in chestnut. Plus the normalizing weight we all gain (that's a little scary but actually makes us look tons better). The resemblance was nearly non-existent.

Still, there is controversy...

Pod Pod the Rhino

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, Leigh was an angry little Republican roaming around in a drug-addled swarm of liberal colleged-aged students who (blessedly) already knew all there was to know about the world. In a pseudo-intellectual blur, fueled by boxed wine and contact buzzes (of course), Leigh used to write obnoxious and bizarre letters-to-the-editor of the school paper. Here we find our heroine …

I’m not sure what compelled me to write this particular LTE (second listing on that page) and I can’t tell if it’s excerpted in the archive or if this is really all there is to it. Suffice to say, it was a random attack on liberals, likely inspired by a particularly close-minded classroom discussion or a coffee-house ideological attack. Or, drugs. At any rate, it incited quite the little controversy. In addition to lots of hate mail and surly little comments, I also rated a biting (if goofy) editorial cartoon:

Basking happily in the attention (wink), I wrote back to the angry mob and asked the cartoonist for a signed copy – ‘cause, really, how many times does one person get to be enough of an ass to rate cartoon-ification? (well, anyone not named Bush /Booooosh/ or Rumsfeld)? Alas, I never received the signed strip, but I did come across Ben’s (artist's) site recently and was very amused and pleased to find that Pod Pod the Rhino lives on.

And, although the first LTE was pure nonsense. I think the second one still makes some good points about partisanship and good humor on any side of the aisle.

See the strip with flattering commentary
View the series
Send your compliments to Ben

posted by Leigh Householder

Twice baked potato pie

It had to happen, first Athens' own Late Night Pizza closed its doors and buggy lid and now it's stopped making the frozen pizzas for Farmacy. Sigh. Another sigh. For you other Ohio University grads (and, well, attendees) who have that same twice baked jones, I've decided to post my twice baked potato pie short cut recipe:

Twice baked potato pie: the street-version
Boboli pizza crusts
Mashed potatoes (if you buy them, go for the refrigerated kind - not the spuds)
4 strips soy or pork bacon - chopped
1/3 of a red onion - minced
Cheddar and mozzarella cheese
Sunflower oil (or butter)

Sautee onions in oil (or butter)
Warm mashed potatoes
Cook/warm bacon per package instructions and chop

Mix above
Spread on pizza crusts

Dress generously with cheeses

Cook per package instructions

Oh, and Cincinnatians (you know who you are!) apparently one of your local eateries is selling a well-reviewed twice baked potato pie - could this be a rogue Late Night Pizza cook spreading the seed? [Patterson's at 8372 Reading Road. Phone (513) 761-4700. ]

Find a more "serious" TBPP recipe here.

posted by Leigh Householder

Dr. Frank Henderson, Ohio University, Memorial

I just returned from the memorial of someone who had a truly profound influence on my life - Dr. Frank Henderson. Frank was a professor and friend to me and many - a mentor who showed a generation of students what education really could be.

Thinking about his class reminds me of that great Utah Phillips line ... talking about California, he says "you gotta be open. If you aren't open - they'll pry you open." That was his class - his teaching and the smart, wonderfully brash people who were a part of it.

If I were to describe the change in my life - it would be that before I met Frank, my political heart was 10 sizes too small - I was a bit of a citizen Grinch. It's too much to say that one person can teach another empathy, but by teaching me what to think about - he showed me the great depth of humanity that I had somehow missed.

I hope that I have grown up to be what he would call a "good citizen." I know that many of the people I openly fought with there would be surprised to know just what kind of citizen I chose to be - but, maybe, I'll see them in line at the Democratic primary...

The Memorial for Frank was lovely - a full house at the First Presbyterian Church. A couple of hundred fellow travelers who just stopped by to say thank you to someone who always took the time to talk through an idea, to lend a shoulder, to tell a story... he will be long missed.

Athens Messenger1/26/2004 2:03 PM
Memorial service for Dr. Frank Henderson
ATHENS — A memorial service celebrating the life of Dr. Frank Henderson will be held Saturday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Athens.All are welcome to join the family in commemorating Frank's personal and professional impact on the lives of his friends, students, colleagues and in the community. Those planning to attend are asked to include something bright in their attire in celebration of his life. ...

Bio
James "Frank" Henderson, Jr. was born in Little Rock, AR on June 18, 1943, the only child of the Rev. and Mrs. (Mildred Simmons) Henderson, Sr.

Dr. Henderson received both his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in political science from the University of Missouri, after receiving his undergraduate degree from Park College in Parkville, MO. Following graduation, he taught at SUNY-Buffalo before coming to Ohio University to teach in the Political Science Department in 1972. His areas of specialization were political and legal theory, and civil liberties. While at Ohio University, he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses until taking early retirement in 2002.

As one of the first African-American graduates of Little Rock, Arkansas' historic Central High School, Frank's life was profoundly influenced by the Civil Rights struggle. His teaching reflected his deep commitment to education in the areas of public policy and law.

While at Ohio University, Professor Henderson won numerous teaching awards, indicative of the quality of his teaching and dedication to his craft. He received the University Professor Award five times and held the title of University Professor in Perpetuity. He also received the Jeanette G. Grasselli Teaching Award.

See also