| Why is Columbus, Ohio so special to me? |
| In 1984 I had a very special friend who lived and worked in
Columbus, Ohio. Her name is Mary. She owned a business and lived in the
northeast section of the City.
We met in Hawaii on the American Hawaii Cruise of August 18 to 25, 1984. It was on the last evening of the cruise, August 24, 1984, that I met her on the deck of the ship. She was sitting in a lounge chair enjoying the evening air. We talked for a good hour and a half. Then we started kissing. She said, "You're so lucky." I thought, "Here we go. You're so lucky I don't knock your block off". Nope she meant, "You're so lucky you have your entire life ahead of you". You see there was a bit of an age difference. About 30 years. (G. D. it. As I write this in 2005 she was right I did have my whole life ahead of me. I do now too). That Sunday after the ship docked and the passengers disembarked my family and I went to the Arizona memorial. After the tour of the memorial we went to the airport. At the airport on Sunday August 25, 1984, Mary and I crossed paths. We were both flying back to the mainland on the same United Airlines Flight. Flight 182 which departed Honolulu at 1:40 p.m. Hawaii time heading to San Francisco and scheduled to arrive in SFO at 9:30 p.m.. On the flight back we changed seats so that we could sit together. After the plane landed in SFO we talked and spent even more time together (about 3 hours). It was there that we exchanged phone numbers and addresses prior to departing for our connecting flights. Her to Columbus (CMH) and I to Philadelphia on United Airlines flight 136 which left at 1245 a.m. pacific time. A check of the July 1, 1984 United Airlines timetable (I'm a pack rat for vacation memorabilia) shows 136 as a one stop flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia via Chicago. It also shows 136 being part of the itinerary for SFO to CMH with a change of planes in O'Hare to Columbus. I could swear we parted in SFO. I also remember her saying she had to change planes in Chicago.
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Ohio Savings Bank building near the old Stuart Anderson's Black Angus. 9/4/2004 7:50 a.m. Similar to an image I snapped with my camera in 1984. |
| In any event after we returned to our
respective home towns we stayed in touch through the phone and the
mail. After a few weeks we decided to meet in her home town of Columbus. I drove from my
home in Voorhees, New Jersey to her home in Columbus, Ohio.
When we were together we did so many fun things: We went to Stuart Anderson's Black Angus for dinner, drinks, and dancing.
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The old Stuart Anderson's Black Angus. It was later a Ground Round and will soon be a Whisky Bills or some such place.
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| We visited German Village.
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| We
visited her friend's business in Delaware City, Ohio.
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| We walked through a
park (perhaps the state park near Delaware and I-71).
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| We visited the Ohio State
Capital.
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| We shopped for an 'Ohio State' Jersey at the Northland
Mall on Morse Drive in Columbus, Ohio. The mall saw much better days in
1984. There is the large Polaris Mall off of I-71, north of I-287, and the Easton
Shopping Center at Morse Road and I-287 that is taking a great portion of
the business. This according to the girl at the General Nutrition Center in the
Northland Mall.
The store may have been located here behind the Coke machines. I recall it was at one end of the mall by a department store.
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The Northland Mall On Morse Road.
Sadly this part of my memory is no longer there. It has been demolished.
Northland Mall Columbus, OH 9/4/2004 7:26 a.m.
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We went to the Columbus Marriott North with a friend of hers, a friend of ours, and danced at the Panache night club. The Panache night club has been gone for many years. There is a nice restaurant (great steaks) in its place. This area has been remodeled to put a bar, lounge and banquet room near the restaurant. Even with the remodeling the elevated seating area in the back of the restaurant seems very familiar. There are booths tucked away along the wall that also add to the familiarity.
The Panache Club was located here at one time.
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Marriott Columbus North (official site) 6500
Doubletree Avenue
These booths and elevated floor are familiar.
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| I remember buying a case of Rolling Rock (at least I now drink Heinekens) from a beer distributor that you drove through. Now I recall it being a white building on a corner but this was seventeen years ago. |
A drive through beer distributor that may or may not be the place we shopped at for the beer. |
| There was also an order of pizza purchased
from a Little Caesars. This was the first time I heard of "Pizza
Pizza".
There was also a sports bar that had a lot of televisions on the walls for watching the games. I don't recall where that was located. There was Thanksgiving with here family and friends. There are many more happy memories that will remain just that, memories .
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Do you remember that line from a song, "I made such a big mistake when I was Mary's prayer." I certainly do! |
A very brief summary that is both intentionally incomplete and a work in progress.
Preparing the Keywords for my page (Columbus, Ohio, cruise, Mary, American Hawaii Cruises, 1984, Columbus Marriott North, Panache, Stuart Anderson's Black Angus, Delaware, Ohio, Herbalife, German Village, Little Caesars)