King James Reigns At The Palace

Remember children: Michigan is the part of Ohio that nobody wanted.
Also remember that the reason Ohio doesn't slide into the Ohio River is because Michigan sucks.

Now, sucks isn't a nice word and it shouldn't be used, excepting when describing Michigan or the Yankees. Then we allow a special dispensation for that naughty word.

And what is May 31st? It's now going to be called Ohio Day, because it's the day that King James turned in the greatest single performance in NBA play-off history and scored 29 of the Cavs' last 30 points to beat the Pistons at the Palace at Auburn Hills in double overtime.

It's also the day that the Tribe beat the Tigers 11-5. Nice.

Just One More Reason....

That Ohio is a good place to be from:

As if this isn't enough, now we have this to add to his February breakdown during a debate in the House of Representatives. Was anyone else appalled by his uncontrollable sobbing on the House floor yesterday (Think Progress has the video), or are my trials and tribulations with the Ohio Department of Taxation obscuring my empathy and general goodwill to my fellow Buckeyes?

I invite you folks in Cincinnati who read the blog on a daily to comment on this one. I welcome your thoughts about Mean Jean and John. I must be missing something.

My Dear State of Ohio Department of Taxation....

Warning: This is not a family friendly post--it's a personal rant. Proceed at your own risk.

.....I received your tax bill for $9114.00 (taxes owed, plus penalties and interest).
This is precisely what I think of you and your tax bill:You know I filed, I know I filed, you admit you lost my filing, and you admit that you received the additional taxes that I paid when I e-filed, which were in addition to my paycheck withholdings.

But because the State of Ohio Lost my return and because I already spent eight hours proving that I didn't live or work in the state of Ohio in the years 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, and because you told me I did not need to document the year 2000 when I initially spoke with you, I wasn't in any hurry to start digging in my files (again) to provide you with my 2000 return--which you never once told me I was legally responsible to provide to you. Despite my asking that direct question to you three times. So you send me an estimated tax assessment for the year 2000, for a lot of money. I already paid you a lot of money for that year.

So now I've spent another five hours of my time, locating a tax return that I've already filed, writing a letter and sending it certified mail (at another cost of $14.00), and three hours on the phone with the Department of Taxation.

I view this as harassment. It's no different than the State of New Hampshire sending 23,000 EZ Pass letters--some of which had absolutely no merit. Nor does this. But I have no power.

Random Old Photos

Amish School Coat Room, 2001
I'm trying to organize my photos. They are currently scattered (and I mean scattered) across two computers and one external hard drive. The organization of my photo files is beginning to resemble the organization in my closet. "Dee-sas-ter' is the best descriptor that I can come up with for both.

Lately, I find myself looking for a photo that I just know that I have, but I can't find it.
Of course, I find it three weeks later while looking for another photo that I just know that I have..... Better to take control of the situation now, before it's totally out of hand.

These two, I'd forgotten about entirely.
Prepare yourself for many mindless postings of photos having nothing to do with Maine. Don't worry, it won't last too long.

damn

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire community of Bluffton and the Bluffton University family.
Bluffton University is a small Mennonite college in northwestern Ohio and a number of my friends graduated from there, including two close friends who played baseball for the school. The news this morning was unspeakable and horrible.

A Happy Ending....

Remember this sad tale?

Well, after spending about eight total hours pulling together all of the documentation that the State of Ohio needs to be convinced that I didn't live or work in the state from 2003-2005, writing a cover letter, photocopying all of it, driving through a blizzard to Express Mail the package, and then another hour on the phone this morning with the IRS to try to get my tax transcript for 1995-1997 (I ordered them on February 1 and the IRS shows that they were pulled and mailed on that day, but they never arrived--so I requested a duplicate this morning).......

So after all that, my phone rings this afternoon. It's the nice lady who wrote me that letter from the state.
She tells me she's received and reviewed the 2003-2205 information and it's clear that I did not need to file in the state of Ohio for those years and given the information that I've provided and the explanation in my cover letter, she is going to close this file. I do not need to provide them with the transcript for '95-'97. Great news!
BUT....
there is just one more thing. It seems that the Great State of Ohio has lost my tax return for 2000. She sees that I've paid them, via credit card (it was e-filed) the correct amount and there's not a question of me owing them any money, but they've lost a lot of e-filed returns between 2000 and 2002, and this appears to be one of them. Can I please send her a copy of the state filing for 2000?

Uh. Huh. Now the nice lady and I specifically discussed 2000 when I called her on February 1 after receiving the letter. 2000 was mentioned in the RE line of the letter, but not in the body of the letter, so I asked her if she needed documentation for that year. She said no, so I didn't send it to her. Now she tells me she needs the tax return. Can you guess how quickly I'm getting that to her?
Goodness. It's almost enough to make me a Michigan fan.

Ashland County Amish

My dad braved the Ohio portion of last week's blizzard to see what the neighbors were up to. They were up to a little manure spreading and some blacksmithing and they were heading off to school. The English kids had a snow day, but not the Amish kids.


























He wanted me to be sure to tell you that he was in a nice warm car, not in a buggy, so he really didn't feel that brave.
Especially after he shot this picture: