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Rainy Day Writers, Cambridge, OH (2026)

10/12/2026

Claire Cameron gives information on that fascinating Cirque de Soleil. Perhaps you'll want to see a performance. Read more Rainy Day Writers articles on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Cirque Du Soleil by Claire Cameron

Welcome to the new era of circus magic in Cirque du Soleil. Open your world to more wonder and feel the inspiration like never before!

Originally composed of 20 street performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group completely reinvented circus arts and went on to become a world leader in live entertainment.

In addition to producing world renowned shows, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group extends its creative approach to a large variety of entertainment forms such as multimedia productions, immersion experiences, theme parks, and special events.

From the streets of small-town Quebec to the world stage, the team of street performers became an international phenomenon.

This crew had an eclectic show highlighting jugglers, dancers, fire breathers, and musicians. Little did their fans or the performers know that their early beginnings would lead to something magical, exciting and revolutionary on a global scale.

After years of honing their craft, they took the show on tour. This traveling show offered a unique take on circus arts: animal-free, striking, dramatic, beautiful and reflective.

Street performances featured outrageous costumes, magical lighting, and original music. As Cirque du Soleil’s sun rose for the first time, a new dawn broke in the world of circus arts.

In 1987 Cirque du Soleil made waves upon their first tour of the US.

Now after so many years of success performing in tents, stadiums, on ships and as a permanent fixture at Disney World, Cirque du Soleil is a circus that defies all laws of physics. Spectators as great performers combine pyrotechnics acrobats, dance, music and stagecraft.

These performances will have your heart racing. Outstanding performers in bold makeup and bizarre costumes tell their story in a high energy compilation packed with adrenaline and nonstop intensity keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

From trapeze to fire acts, performances from TOTEM, ECHO, Algeria, and KURIOS come together in a display-controlled chaos, precision, and pure thrill.

In “O” breathtaking aerial artistry unfolds above an iconic aquatic stage. Their trapeze queen performs on her swing above a pool of water while a merry go round of riders on horses rotate in the water below.

If you are looking for an incredible holiday family-friendly show, you don’t have to travel any further than Cincinnati, Ohio. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, is a heartwarming classic story about a girl who rediscovers the magic of the holidays. Packed with charming characters and a festive holiday soundtrack, it is sure to amaze.

For more information on purchasing tickets, showtimes, and a glimpse into ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas go to www.cirquedusoleil or Google Cirque du Soleil shows in Cincinnati.

10/12/2026

Rick Booth tells some interesting stories about the FDA career of George Larrick, a man who attended Pleasant City High School. This article appears in October's Crossroads magazine.

10/02/2026

Martha Jamail recalls an early experience when teaching involving her foreign accent. Read more Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

I Cain't Go by Martha Jamail

Growing up in the deep South, everyone spoke in a slow drawl, omitting word endings, pronouncing words in unique ways, and creating new words like “y’all” meaning you all. Everyone was hospitable and generous with words like “honey”, “sweetie”, and “darling” even when addressing strangers. I taught a year in elementary school, and of course, since we all sounded alike, I never realized I spoke with an accent.

At the time of my marriage, my husband was in the Air Force, stationed at a California Air Base. I was fortunate to be able to get a job teaching in a local elementary school. It was a First and Second grade classroom, and we were team teachers which meant we traded classes from time to time or joined students together for certain projects.

One Friday, the First-Grade teacher asked me to trade classes with her, and give the spelling test to her students, while she taught a special lesson to my Second graders. One of the spelling words was “can’t”. I stood in front of the class calling out words to be written by the students when I got to the word “can’t”, and of course I pronounced it “cain’t”. One student timidly raised his hand and politely asked me to use the word in a sentence. So, I said, “You know, like I cain’t go.” He nodded and lowered his head and wrote the word.

At Parent-Teacher Conferences, both his parents showed up, and after introducing themselves, told me how much their son liked his new teacher, but he with a foreign accent. We all had a good laugh over it, and that’s when I began to work hard at proper pronunciation, and eliminating my foreign accent.

09/23/2026

Betsy Taylor recalls a little history of the USS Shenandoah crash over 100 years ago. Read more Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

The USS Shenandoah - A Local Tragedy by Betsy Taylor

When I was teaching, I rarely went to the teachers’ lounge during my work period. My classroom, silent for forty-five whole minutes, was the best place to plan lessons, grade papers, calculate grades, and update student records. But on September 3, 1995, Kennedy’s Bakery doughnuts had been delivered for the school staff and there was no way I could pass up a cream-filled pastry.

After all these years I remember the time because my friend, another science teacher, was there enjoying a doughnut and a cup of coffee as he contemplated the date.

“I chatted with my dad last night,” he said, “and he reminded me that today is the anniversary of the downing of the USS Shenandoah.”

“I’ve heard of that,” I said as I munched. “But I don’t know much about it.”

He told me the story as his dad remembered it. His dad wasn’t there when the airship went down but, like residents from miles around in Noble County, he came to the site to get a look at the debris field left by the crash.

Ava, a village south of Cambridge and north of Caldwell along what is now I-77, was the closest community to the crash. We didn’t talk about the ship’s physical construction, the fuel that powered it, the gas that kept it elevated, or the storm winds that brought it down. Instead, my friend lamented the deaths of the crew and the behavior of souvenir seekers who scavenged the ship’s remains.
“Dad said they swarmed over the wreckage and gathered up pieces they could carry away. They even ripped off the fabric skin and made it into raincoats. Can you imagine?” Bewildered by the thefts, he shook his head.

Truth was – I really couldn’t imagine. At the time I hadn’t seen photos of the crash site, the crowds surrounding the devastation, or the government property they hauled away as keepsakes. After all, the event had taken place seventy years ago, only thirteen years after the sinking of the Titanic. Ancient history.
Since that day a plethora of articles have been written to commemorate the crash that took place almost in our own backyard. I’ve read many of them and found that the more I learn, the easier it is for me to imagine the course of events that made up the tragedy.

The USS Shenandoah, the first lighter-than-air rigid airship to be made in the U.S., promised to secure a place in the future of naval aircraft. Known as The Daughter of the Stars, she had just completed a 9,000-mile cross-country journey to test docking stations and showcase her magnificence. Capt. Zachary Lansdowne, an Ohio native and skilled pilot, was a well-known aviator. He understood the vagaries of midwestern weather patterns including the frequent late-summer storms in Ohio. When Lansdowne was ordered to make a six-day public relations flight through the Midwest, he advised his superiors to wait until early autumn. They refused and the die was cast.

The Shenandoah’s destination was the Ohio State Fair in Columbus. The journey was a rough one with high winds buffeting the airship like a tailless kite. The eighth-of-a-mile long craft carried a gondola suspended beneath it by cables. In it 14 men were tossed like toys.
The gondola broke away when the Shenandoah split into two pieces. It crashed killing all fourteen crewmen on board. The heavy back portion of the inflatable dropped quickly and came to rest in a field. But the lighter front portion drifted in the opposite direction. A farmer heard the crewmen aboard calling as they descended. He grabbed a dangling rope and tied it to a tree anchoring the bow in place. All crewmen were saved except for those riding in the gondola.

Because the airship was held aloft with helium gas, the possibility of explosion was slight. Hydrogen gas that has greater lifting power but is highly flammable was no longer used following the Hindenburg disaster.

The Navy has abandoned its lighter-than-airship program. The last flight of a naval airship occurred on August 31, 1962. But the USS Shenandoah had already provided evidence that the endeavor lacked practicality

09/17/2026

Claire Cameron reminds us that we need to do something to make ourselves and others happy. Everyone could use a little more happiness in their lives. Read more Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

DO Something by Claire Cameron

Once when I was in a slump, I remember a sign that said, “Do something that makes you happy.” Of course, when you are always intent on making someone else happy, you let yourself slide until the thought leaves your mind until you feel there’s something lacking in your life. Yeah…like my life is becoming dull!

I pondered where I had heard that saying before. Not as a one-sentence quote but as a list challenging me to put some color back into my life, play catch up and to connect with my fellow humans.

It began like this:

Do something for yourself. How many things do most of us do for others without ever thinking of doing something for ourselves? Wouldn’t it be nice to take a book and spend a couple hours reading and watching the waves splash the shore? Or treat yourself to that banana split and a new movie you’ve been waiting to see?

Do something for someone else without them knowing. Helping someone else out or giving them a little gift or treat of some sort not only makes it a surprise, but leaves a feeling that they are special or mean a lot to someone.

Do something you have been putting off. Remember that flower bed you’ve been wanting to plant, but you keep putting it off? You think to yourself, Oh, I’ll do it later today or I’ll do it tomorrow. And before you know it, it’s too cold and you chastise yourself for waiting. You may even feel like you were too lazy to get out the gloves and shovel. Remember the saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today?”

Or that good friend that’s been very ill. The one that you’ve promised to visit or meant to send a card to, but you waited too long and then you see their obituary in today’s newspaper? But perhaps it isn’t too late to lift someone’s spirits. It may surprise you to find out it will not only do them a lot of good, but it will give you a lot of satisfaction knowing you did a lot of good also.

Do something you don’t want to do. We all have those things we hate to do. Then the longer we let it go, the bigger the impact it can have on us. From cleaning out the castaways in the basement that continue to pile up or the mounds of filing you’ve allowed to accumulate until you’ve flipped the calendar to a new year and you still haven’t been able to find that cash reimbursement check you threw in the pile six months ago!

We have calendars on our cell phones and alarms that can remind us to take care of important matters. These are easy to use and can save us time and money. And, if it is no more than a tool, we can use to keep a list of enjoyable things we can do for ourselves or others, or to meet a deadline or avoid costly mistakes due to being late, it is well worth the effort to use these types of shortcuts and techniques to bring harmony and happiness into our everyday lives.

So how about it? DO Something! Try out this list and see if it doesn’t put more meaning into your life. If nothing else, you may make someone else happy.

09/15/2026

Dan Hrinko from Belle Valley makes exact reproductions of historic 18th century items. Beverly Kerr enjoyed a visit there recently. Read about his work and other activities in September's Crossroads magazine.

09/10/2026

Mark Cooper adds a bit of humor to his latest article. You'll find yourself smiling along the way. Find more stories by Rainy Day Writers on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Grocery Store Humor and a Church Warning by Mark Cooper

Humor is readily available, we just need to keep our eyes open to find reasons to smile, giggle, and snicker. It’s also helpful to have an off-beat, slightly questionable, sense of humor.

I’m at the grocery store’s meat counter. There’s no missing the massive poster depicting a juicy, perfectly grilled hamburger with a circumference of three feet. At the bottom, a little asterisk is followed by the words, “Not actual size.”

I can just picture the graphic designers meeting to design that poster. They are excited with the juicy image they’ve designed to promote the store’s fresh meats.

Then the legal department knocks on the door. “Hey fellows, you can’t show our hamburger being so big. Customers will accuse us of false advertising when they see our hamburgers are no bigger than what they can buy for a lot less money at that ‘big store’ a couple miles away. They might even sue us!”

Much moaning and groaning ensues until the one person in the room who has common sense speaks up, “Can’t we just tell the customers that the hamburger on our poster is ‘Not actual size!’”

Problem solved for them. And a chuckle prompted in me. That’s a win for all involved.

Sometimes grocery stores force us to reflect on the seriousness of life. In a display, cheerful, red tomatoes are advertised as being “Tomatoes raised right.”

In these dark and challenging times, isn’t it encouraging, even inspiring, to know there are those who still committed to raising their tomatoes the right way? What can be worse than encountering a tomato that has had a bad upbringing.

Doubtlessly that has been the fault behind many a rotten tomato.

Speaking of encouragement in dark times, churches portray themselves as harbingers of light, don’t they? So, shouldn’t we give serious contemplation to the messages on their signs?

I pull up to a stop light and spy the marquee in front of an old and majestic church edifice. (I think it prudent to not reveal the denomination.) The marquee makes an announcement, or is it actually warning,

Sunday Worship 11 AM – Be Very Careful’-Guest Speaker

I have no idea who the guest speaker is or why those attending need to be careful of him (or her). But I’m heeding the warning, you won’t find me there at 11 AM this Sunday.

Back to another grocery store tale. I’m doing my weekly shopping, pushing my cart through Aisle 8. Overhead is the sign listing the products I’ll find on its shelves, “Dog Food, Cat Food, Bird Food, Canning Supplies.”

Wait just a minute; Dog Food, Cat Food, Bird Food, Canning Supplies? Does the close proximity of these goods to each other strike you as humorous? Or maybe deeply disturbing? Is this retailer hinting that if we buy their pet food, our pets will fatten up so much we’ll eventually be tempted to purchase the store’s canning supplies?? That’s dark!

Oh yes, (and this is not a joke), there are two live birds roosting on top of that sign. I quickly duck and leave Aisle 8, thankful that I have no need of pet food or canning supplies.

I can’t think of a graceful way to close this brief revelation of questionable humor. So instead, here is a salient quote from our most elusive local citizen, “Believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Bigfoot

Or, reworded for my purposes, “Laugh at your own humor, because no one else is laughing with you.”

09/07/2026

Claire Cameron tells many interesting facts about Ben Franklin. You are sure to find some surprises along the way. This article appears in September's Crossroads magazine if you want to read the rest of the story.

09/05/2026

Fair time had Beverly Kerr thinking back years ago when their whole one-room school went to the Guernsey County Fair. Read about it here or on Your Radio Place or in Guernsey News.

Guernsey County Fair in 1952 by Beverly Kerr

Memories of an early visit to the Guernsey County Fair many years ago, spring to life as another fair season nears. All the students from our one room school were taken by bus from Indian Camp to the fairgrounds. At that time only grades 5-8 went to the Hopewell School. That made over 40 students on the bus.

Mom had given me a dollar to spend at the fair. “Spend it carefully,” she told me, “as it has to last you all day.” I placed it in my change purse with two secret quarters I had saved from my birthday.

When we got to the fairgrounds, we first explored the cattle barns because some of our classmates had projects there. Then it was on to the 4-H displays, where I had a project in the Hopewell Merry Maids booth. It was my first year in 4-H and I had made a tablecloth and napkins.

The smell of french fries soon became irresistible and my first purchase of the day at 15¢ was a cone filled with french fries. I put vinegar all over them. They were sooooo good.

Then we decided to go on some rides. It was Kids Day and all rides were 10¢. We started off with the merry-go-round, then on to the octopus, swings twice, and Ferris wheel twice. What fun! You could see the whole fairgrounds from the top of the Ferris wheel.

The smell of the hot roasted peanuts drifted up through the air, so my next purchase was a bag of hot roasted peanuts still in their shells. These were shared with the other students, and we had fun putting the shells in our mouth to get that salty flavor before cracking them open to eat the nuts inside.

Soon, we boarded the caterpillar ride. That was when the trouble began.

As that ride went on a winding path, a cover came over the cars making everything pitch black. A whole lot of screaming went on! When we got off the caterpillar, I discovered my change purse was missing.

“Wait!” I called to the operator, “let me check the seat to see if my change purse fell out there.” But there was no change purse. It wasn’t a big loss as I only had two quarters left. I had saved it to buy some cotton candy before we went home.

All of a sudden, I noticed that a little red-haired girl, the one who sometimes took my potato chips at school, had some extra money and was buying cotton candy. That made me suspicious as she was in the seat with me on the caterpillar, but I had no proof.

“Time to load up the bus to head back to school,” Mrs. Clark called as she walked around the grounds. There was even an announcement over the public speaker saying, “Students from Hopewell School need to report to their bus immediately.”

When we got on the bus, that little red-haired girl sat across the aisle from me and asked, “Would you like to share some of my cotton candy?”

Since I figured I had paid for it anyway, I took some of it. Guess that pink sugary treat helped ease the pain for me. I just had to ask her, “Where did you get the money for this cotton candy? I thought you said you had spent all you brought.”

“Oh, I found some money on the ground,” was her quick answer.

I still had a fun time at the fair but never forgot my change purse being taken. Still have a little difficulty trusting someone with red hair.

09/03/2026

Rick Booth, local historian, explores a little "Baseball History" in Cambridge in September's Crossroads magazine. If you're a baseball fan, you'll want to pick up a copy to read the rest of the story...

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