Hello. I'd been spiked.

Toronto, Ohio and BELOW - Spike with his New Butler

Spike, the min pinscher, travelled with me from Toronto, Ohio to Toronto, Ontario. Why?

My sister was about to give away Spike to a neighbour's brother; they could not take care of the dog anymore. And when Spike kept on following me, I knew I had to bring him home.

So my trip back home took a bit longer because I made several stops to let Spike go to the bathroom and to stretch.

On this trip to Ohio, I was also able to attend a friend's wedding and on the same night, to hang out at the VFW Father's Day karaoke and country dancing celebration. Anyway, I did not dance nor sing; just watched the folks and drank my beer.

Inside VFW Hall
With bro-in-law. As former Navy, he got to visit Subic Naval and Clarke Air Bases.

Small MidWestern StateTowns

When I drive to the mid western state of Ohio, I visit two places: Steubenville and Toronto.

Steubenville lies about 18 miles west of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. It is well known for its famous citizen, Dean Martin. Even now, Mr. Martin is still celebrated in this small city, like having look alike contests in Italian bars.

Another town I get to visit when I come to Ohio is called Toronto. It is a quaint little town close to Steubenville, about ten minutes drive along Highway 7.

These two places belong to what is called the Tri-State area: Ohio - Pittsburgh-West Virginia.

These three states abut one another.

Steubenville, while home to Dino Martin, is also home to a small enclave of Filipinos. In fact, the Tri-State area is home to a Filipino community, composed mostly of health care practitioners, like doctors and nurses.

So, there is an association called TriState Filipino-American Doctors.

Most of these doctors and nurses settled in the tri-state area during the 70's when there was a shortage of doctors in the US. They were mostly new graduates and started having their families here. Today, their children have become the new professionals of America.

When I came to live in Steubenville, I enrolled in computer courses in a community college called Jefferson Technical; now, Jeff Tech offers a wide-range of courses that could compete with any American community college.

Another learning institution in Steubenville is the Franciscan University of Steubenville. It celebrates its 6oth year of foundation and is fast gaining respect and recognizability in the country for its good programs and religious orientation.

There is a growing body of international students at the University, and some coming from the Philippines. One of my sisters used to host Filipino students from the University.

Toronto, on the other hand, is a typical American town. Houses hang the American flag in their porches, barbecue grills are gleaming in the backyards, and small children ride the bikes on the sloping streets.

A landmark of Toronto is the VFW (Veterans of Foreign War) hall where veterans hang out reminiscing about distant wars fought over bottles of beer. My brother in law used to be Commander of the local chapter in Toronto, and during his duty, used to visit the Clark Air Base.

The locals here are very friendly. Which reminds me of small towns in the Philippines, where the locals while even not knowing you, would offer the comfort of their home when you have no place to sleep. At least that's what I used to knew.

News from the BuckEye State

It was raining all the way from I-90 to OH-11. The trip took about seven hours. The van was loaded with full ammo: potato chips, coke, bottled H2O, donuts, chicharon, tuna sandwich and peanuts.

Finally, sister was glad to see brother.

Before dinner, my sister came running from the garage into the house, screaming "snake, snake." She said as she opened the garage door, the snake was right outside and crawled when she screamed. It was long and black.

Bro-in-law said it could have been just a garden snake; non-poisonous.

Meanwhile, Spike, the house dog, which is a mini pin, still remembers me and jumps at me wherever I go. He checks me in my room every five minutes.