Two Hour Delay

We've had snow the last couple of days in the Cincinnati area. My youngest son, Michael, a junior at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, Ohio, still enjoys a snow day (Don't we all?). Both yesterday and today were declared snow days by his school, and as is typical of a male teenager, he slept in till about noon both days.

Michael's school has the customary options when it comes with dealing with the snow. One hour delay, two hour delay, snow day. Michael usually wakes up at about 6:20 AM to get to school for 7:15 AM first bell.

Lakota Schools do a nice job of using all the technologies to notify kids and parents if delays or cancellations are possible. The Lakota website, automated phone calls and local radio and TV outlets are all used to communicate school closing decisions.

Earlier in the week, there was a pretty good chance that a two hour delay was going to happen. It was finally posted about 10 PM, before Michael went to bed. Michael would get to stay in the land of Nod till 8:20 AM the next day, which is like GOLD for a teenager.

Tammy, my wife, told Michael to bring our iPad up to his room so that if the decision changed to a full snow day when he got up at 8:20 AM he could go back to sleep.

The next morning, our phone rang about 6:15 AM. It was the automated phone notification calling to say there was a two hour delay, no change from the Website posting the night before. Tammy answered it, and headed upstairs to wake Michael.

As Michael tells it, she went in his room, "Michael! Michael! Are you awake? I just want you to know you're still on a two hour delay! You can still sleep an extra two hours!"

Michael, as grateful as ever, "Thanks Mom for waking me to tell me I can continue to sleep..."

obriencomics.blogspot.com

My Home District Congressman is Speaker of the House!

I live in Liberty Township, Ohio just outside of Cincinnati. Liberty Township is in Ohio's 8th Congressional District and our Representative is the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

I describe myself as Libertarian in my beliefs, which probably make me more of a Republican than a Democrat in a two party system. But I have centrist views on social issues.

I write this not to generate debate about government policy, or take sides on the key issues, but more to provide a little more background on me.

Getting to the point. It is pretty cool that my Congressman is Speaker of the House. My Mother-in-Law has known John and his wife Debbie for many years. Speaker Boehner has been described as a hard-core conservative and I don't lean as far to the right as he does. But the fact that the 61st Speaker of the House and the person who is 2nd in the line of Presidential succession lives 10 minutes away from me gives me a real sense of civic pride.

On another note, I believe that two political party's holding power in different branches of our Federal Government is actually a good thing. The Republican party now has an opportunity to move their agenda forward, but they will have to figure out a way to work with the Democrats to get it done (and vice-versa). We can also hold the Republicans responsible for their actions, not just listen to their rhetoric.

Here's how the Cincinnati Enquirer covered John Boehner's historic day.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110105/NEWS0108/301050070/John-Boehner-becomes-speaker-of-U-S-House-of-Representatives

Restaurant Review-Bruno's Pizza, Liberty Township, Ohio

Bruno's Pizza in Liberty Township has become my "go-to" pizza place. We are fortunate in the West Chester/Liberty Township, Ohio area. We have some quality pizza places to enjoy; Dewey's, LaRosa's, Raymond's, Jet's, Uno's, Donato's, Cassano's (Monroe), Big Dog's, Fratelli's.

I have tried them all. And I enjoy them all. However, Bruno's is my favorite. I have some background with Bruno's, but a little different than many who live in the area. I regularly ate at Bruno's while I attended Purdue University. According to the story on Bruno's Liberty Township Website, the West Lafayette, Indiana location was the original, opened in 1955. Most people in this area know Bruno's in Oxford, Ohio, opened in 1963, but ultimately gaining it's fame for selling pizza by the slice in the early 1970's.

The Bruno's in Liberty Township definitely knows their clientele. The decor is pure Miami University, with pictures of the University, it's sports teams etc. I'm thinking I'll bring in some Purdue swag the next time I visit!

The pizza here is outstanding. When you arrive, you order at the counter. They give you a number and they serve it to you at your table. Bruno's has beer and wine. They also serve subs, sandwiches, hamburgers and salads in addition to a wide selection of appetizers. Spaghetti and lasagna are specialties

The secret to Bruno's success in my opinion is the tomato sauce. I would describe it as tangy, with the just the right amount of spice. If you decide that you are not in the mood for pizza, I highly recommend the lasagna.

When a pizza order arrives at the table at Bruno's, it definitely requires a knife and fork, unless you are one of those folks who doesn't mind burning the roof of your mouth. Patience is key. Wait a couple of minutes for the pizza to cool down, and dig in!

The dough is hand tossed, and the pizza is always perfectly cooked, light brown crust, not too crispy, not too doughy. Cheese and toppings are ladled on generously. They have several specialty pizzas, and a wide amount of toppings to choose from. My family goes pepperoni all the way, but my personal favorite is sausage and mushroom.

We usually get the house salad, with the special house dressing (a very good red wine vinaigrette) as a starter.

My absolute favorite item on the menu is the Bruno Dough. It is possibly one of the most original and delicious appetizers I have ever enjoyed. Bruno's takes small dough balls, deep fries them, then rolls them in garlic, butter and Parmesan cheese. They serve it with a side of their tomato sauce. Delicious!

Bruno's delivers to their immediate area, but eating at their restaurant is my preference.

Bruno's Liberty Township also serves their pizza by the slice and that makes the Miami of Ohio graduates in the area (and Lakota East High School students) very happy. A generous slice of cheese pizza is only a $1.50 and you can add items to it for .25 cents each. They put the slice in the oven for about 2-3 minutes, and it comes out hot and ready to eat!

As I mentioned at the top of this article, we have a lot of very good pizza choices in the West Chester/Liberty Township area. My choice is Bruno's!

Bruno's Pizza
6752 Cincinnati-Dayton Rd
Liberty Township, OH 45044
(513) 777-8333
http://www.brunoslibertytownship.com/