Monthly Archives: February 2022

The Spaghetti Warehouse

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When choosing a restaurant for myself I tend to go for great atmosphere. If the food is decent, that’s just a bonus.

I retrieved a friend from the airport Friday and she was famished from her journey so I wanted to go somewhere fun with a good, filling meal. We went to the Spaghetti Warehouse in Columbus. This is a chain but the Columbus location is so unique and so established that people up there seem to think it’s local.

It’s in an old icehouse that was built in 1891 and has been there since 1975. When you approach from Broad Street you’re looking at the back of an imposing brick building complete with a loading dock. It appears to be abandoned. When I turned in, my friend’s reaction was priceless. “This is…. a restaurant…?”

From this angle, it does look like a great place to be killed by the mafia. However, if you drive around to the front of the building, you’ll find a full parking lot and charming entrance.

The centerpiece in the dining room is a trolley car where patrons can dine.

They have a couple of old confessionals from churches in New England that house tables as well. I overheard a server inform an elderly man he had to behave himself while sitting in the confessional.

Glorious woodwork, Tiffany lights and stunning stained glass are just a few of the elements found throughout the dining room.

I always look for mirror selfies.

Oh, and the food was divine too. We both had manicotti which came with salad and bread. Their desserts come from the Cheesecake Factory so we had little trouble talking each other into splitting something. She suggested the Godiva Double Chocolate Cheesecake was a little too much chocolate. I suggested she was nuts because there’s no such thing has too much chocolate.

If you get a chance, you should check it out. My food was divine, the service great and the atmosphere wonderful. It is rare that I get to say that!

Life Is A Mountain

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Life is a mountain. Your job is to find your path, not to reach the top.

Maxime Lagace

Country Mouse

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I am a country mouse. I grew up in a rural area where there are no museums and cultural events are a rarity. Our county courthouse is two stories and there are just a handful of buildings that require an elevator. Our idea of diversity here mainly involves Catholics and Amish. Most people look alike and have identical shared values.

It is exciting to visit a place that is tall and populated with people who look and sound different than what I know.

I never fail to look up when surrounded by tall buildings.

People watching on busy streets is a hobby.

I look up, down and all around to see and absorb as much as possible.

Artifacts of famous people like Abe Lincoln’s top hat are treasures to be admired and examined.

Places like Washington D.C. are a dream come true because the streets are lined with famous landmarks and museums filled with treasures.

Fancy art installations stop me dead in my tracks.

Even a subway station is potential subject matter for a photo.

Visiting the final resting place of our first President is moving and a moment of reverence.

Things that are different, things that are historic or noteworthy, things that others pass by without a glance are special to me. I feel sorry for anyone who can walk by a piece of history or a beautiful work of art and not see its value.

I’m a country mouse and I’m not shamed. In fact, I’m glad for that.

Short List Grocery

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If you ever travel State Route 93 between Oak Hill and Ironton, Ohio, you’ll pass by this old gem. After all these years, I finally pulled over to snap a photo one day last fall. It isn’t fancy but it looks like a classic rural carry out and a slice of Americana. The Coke and Pepsi advertising pieces are eye catching and in great shape.

Battle of Phillipi

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Phillipi, West Virginia seems like a sleepy village along the Tygart Valley River today but it holds the distinction of being the scene of the first organized land battle of the Civil War on July 3, 1861. It also was the site of a pivotal event that led to the development of life changing technology still in use today.

There’s a West Virginia Civil War Trails historic marker near the bridge that relates the story of what went on here. In spring of 1861, Union forces rushed to northwestern Virginia to secure the vital Baltimore and Ohio railroad, protect important turnpikes and to support Unionists in the area against Confederates.

I have read more than one account that suggests this battle was more of skirmish and that the Confederates put up little resistance. According to the historic marker, the untrained Confederates fled south causing Union journalists to nickname the engagement the Phillipi Races.

Only a few men on either side were wounded and none killed. However, Private James E. Hanger had the tragic distinction of being the war’s first amputee. Hanger was an engineering student who enlisted with the Confederate Army at the age of 18. Two days later, a cannonball tore through his leg, forcing a life changing battlefield amputation.

Hanger returned home to Churchville, Virginia to develop an articulated prosthetic leg for himself and began manufacturing prosthetic devices to help other injured soldiers. He dedicated his life to helping others by developing the best possible technology. In fact, in 1915 he traveled to Europe to study the latest in prosthetic technology being developed there.

He died just four years later at the age of 76.

His firm became the largest manufacturer of artificial limbs in the country. Today, Hanger Orthopedic Group remains the nation’s foremost provider of prosthetic services and devices. Many of Hanger’s descendants and other relatives remain involved in the company. Learn more about him here.

Millions of men, women and children have benefited because Private Hanger refused to give up. He used his skills and a powerful amount of grit and determination to turn a tragedy into a blessing for many.

And it all started with the Battle of Phillipi.

Yesterday

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Yesterday was cold but sunny so I stopped for a walk on my way home after work. Truth be told, I was ill prepared for the elements in my dress pants and coat but I strapped on my walking shoes and braved the cold wind anyway. My feet hurt, I was tired and hungry but it felt amazing to stretch my limbs and move.

Aside from a few teenagers starting their spring training and some folks driving by, I had the lake to myself.

I have learned many times over that we may wait forever if we wait for conditions to be ideal. If something is important you have to go after it even when things aren’t perfect.

Perfection is overrated anyway

The sun was setting when I arrived home and it was becoming colder by the minute. However, the light grew golden and enchanting, enticing me back out into the cold for one last picture of the day.

Isn’t it beautiful? Happy Tuesday, friends. Go do the thing that will make you happy- even if conditions aren’t perfect. There will never be a time better than today.