wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

At the Dayton Art Institute visitors are greeted by John Safer's Pathway. This outdoor sculpture towers 70 feet high and suggests the pathway of humans into space. Kind of appropriate for the home of the Wright Brothers. Last week Sharon from Phoenix Daily Photo made a post, Scenes from an Art Fair, where she photographed a similar sculpture. I wonder if it could be the same artist?

I took a walk at Woodland Cemetery where many of the Who's Who of Dayton are buried. Erma Bombeck's grave is just a few steps in from the entrance gate. Erma graduated from the University of Dayton, got married, worked, and raised her family in Dayton. She and her husband moved to Arizona This 29,000 pound rock is a monument to her grave. It was brought by flat-bed truck from her home in Arizona so she could have a piece of the Southwest in her first home.

The plaque on the rock says, "I've seen the motherhood role played by men, grandparents, friends, aunts, and even social workers. It doesn't matter who plays it. What does matter is that when the curtain goes up each day, someone is there to dazzle, ad-lib, support, comfort, listen, and fulfill whatever I feel is the most important role I'll ever be offered in my life. It's the only one I'll be remembered for." - Erma Bombeck

The Wright Family plot. Orville, Katharine, and Wilbur Wright's gravestones are in the front with their parents behind them.

Another favorite grave marker at Woodland, Johnny Morehouse with his dog and toys. Johnny, the youngest son of John and Mary Morehouse, lived with his parents in Dayton, Ohio in the back of his father's shoe repair shop. Legend has it that Johnny accidentally fell into the Miami & Erie canal one day while he was playing and froze to death, despite his faithful dog's efforts to pull him out. After he was buried, the dog laid on his grave site and wouldn't be moved. A special stone was made in 1861 to commemorate Johnny's dog's devotion.

Woodland Cemetery also has the highest point in Dayton where visitors can get a view of the city's skyline from the east.

This year begins my third year for volunteering with the MetroParks. I sign up to work at the downtown parks working in the gardens. This year the volunteering opened up earlier than the past two years. Dayton is hosting the Spring 2025 NATO Parliamentary Assembly May 23-26 and a little extra time is needed to get these parks in tip top shape for all these visitors. This downtown view is from Deeds Point. The tower to the right is one of the five fountains that shoots water at the confluence of the Great Miami and Mad Rivers.

And last, do you remember doing this? What a way to get the last word in!