New Castle, Indiana

 

July 17, 2022

 

New Castle, Indiana

A week after flying up to Cincinnati for the weekend for a wedding, I was back in the air, this time on my way to Indianapolis to attend a twofer of Counting Crows concerts as part of the Rock the Ruins concert series at Holiday Park. I flew up on Friday morning and had the day on Friday to do whatever I wanted as those concerts were not until Saturday and Sunday.

As I usually do, I try to look at what else is happening in the vicinity of where I am traveling to and discover if there is anything else that looks of interest that I may want to do. Perusing facebook, I learned that Henry Lee Summer was going to be performing a free concert on Friday evening in New Castle, Indiana as part of the Henry County summer concert series.

Henry Lee Summer is a Hoosier rock singer who enjoyed tremendous success and popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, especially in the Midwest. I used to go see him often at places like the Vogue and even saw him share a double bill at the Indiana State fairgrounds with John Mellencamp that had over 40,000 fans in attendance. So it was with a bit of nostalgia that I decided I wanted to go check him out in New Castle.

I had not been to New Castle since I was in high school when my school competed in the Hall of Fame classic against Steve Alford and the New Castle Trojans. Since that time they have built a first class Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame just next to the high school and I wanted to check that out prior to heading over to the park where the concert was to be held. 

The Basketball Hall of Fame honors all the men and women who have played high school, college and even professional basketball in the state, but it is highlighted and does an amazing job focusing on the storied history of high school basketball.  It is an absolutely terrific place with incredible displays that trace the heritage of the sport and features a plethora of great displays and memorabilia.

I was able to find a couple of friends who have been inducted and even the game ball from that long ago (1982) game between Cathedral and New Castle. My friend and classmate Kenny Barlow,, is enshrined and I was able to see his plaque as well as one for the late William Smith, legendary coach of Broad Ripple High School who captured the 1980 state championship.

After the visit, I headed to downtown New Castle where I was an early arrival at the Arts Park where the concert was to be held, so I had time to explore the park and even walk around downtown New Castle a bit before returning to catch the concert. There was a good sized crowd on hand and they all seemed to enjoy the show.

I really enjoyed it as well as Henry Lee sounded great and played all his best known hits from the late 80s. My biggest surprise was that his backing vocalists were none other than the Fabulous Starlettes, another band that I followed and saw often back in the day. I was a casual acquaintance of the band, which featured the Mitchell sisters, Mary, Zanna and Julie, none of whom I had seen in 30 plus years.

It was so cool to see them and that they are all back performing together and it just made the choice to go see Henry Lee seem all the better.  It was really a fun and entertaining night and great to relive my youth by seeing performers who I was such a fan of so long ago. 

https://hoopshall.com/

https://henryleesummer.com/

Brooke and Nick

 

July 12, 2022

Brooke and Nick

I don’t have any kids, it isn’t a big deal to us in spite of the questioning looks we sometimes get when people ask if we do. It is just something that we never really considered since we got married somewhat later in life than many people do and it was just never a priority. Not that we don’t love kids, but there is a sort of freedom that comes with not having all that responsibility. Having said that, we love our friends who do have kids and those kids- who we often get to participate in their lives. 

We have so many friends with kids that we often find ourselves attending stuff like kids sporting events, plays and activities, graduations and more recently weddings, all of which we enjoy immensely. Some of our friends kids we have developed an extra special bond with as we have watched them grow up, often hosted them as they visit Key West or were more active participants in their lives.

One such person is the youngest daughter of one of my best friends from growing up, Henk Davis. I basically grew up with Henk and his four siblings and feel like part of their extended family. Henk and his lovely wife Julie were among the first of my close friends to get married and have children and they have three lovely daughters. Of course, we love them all, but have developed a really special relationship with their youngest, Brooke. 

Brooke has visited Key West on numerous occasions, both with her father and on her own and was just recently here with Henk and her adorable daughter Jo. So, when we heard that she was to be married we made plans to be in Cincinnati for the big day. Unfortunately, Kathy got held up in Colorado and was unable to make it, but I was not going to miss the big day.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the rehearsal dinner, which was held at the lovely Valley Vineyards restaurant, which is near their home in Mason.  I was a bit nervous because I knew very few people, but all of Brooke’s friends and Nick’s family were so welcoming and nice that I need not have worried at all. I was also able to spend some time with Henk and Julie after they had been isolated with Covid all week and just were freed from isolation that day.

The wedding day was even better as my good friends in the Davis clan began to arrive. I met them all for lunch before we hung out at the hotel lobby as a large group before heading over to the church where the wedding was held. It was so great to spend time with them. The five siblings have a dozen kids between them and it was really cool to get to spend some quality time with the younger generation.

The wedding and reception were beautiful as was Brooke. I must admit to shedding a tear when she appeared as it had been a stressful week leading up to the big day, but it all came together magically and they looked so incredibly good and happy. 

For me it was just an amazing time being able to share that special moment and also, to be able to spend time with my good friends. Lifelong friends are few and far between for many people, but I am lucky to still call so many from my childhood my friends to this day and there are few as special to me as the Davis family.

Brooke and Nick and their family and friends were great as well as they welcomed me and made me feel a part of the festivities, which was so nice. Kathy and I certainly wish them love and happiness as they move forward in their exciting new life together. I also hope that I will get a chance again soon to see all my friends and spend such an enjoyable day with them.