| Bob Batz Senior Moments Bob Batz has been writing for newspapers for 50 years. Batz, 68, began his writing career as a copy boy at The Flint (Mich.) Journal in 1958. He later was a feature writer at the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle and The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. He joined the staff at The Dayton Daily News in 1970 and retired from that newspaper in January 2007. In the 1980s, Batz was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for a series of newspaper stories he wrote on Alzheimer’s disease. He later wrote a play titled "Long Goodbyes" that was staged on two different occasions by the Brookville Community Theatre. Batz and his wife Sally have been married for almost 45 years. Both are members of the Brookville Fire Department, which they joined in 1975. Both are EMTs and Sally is a former paramedic. In 2007, Bob and Sally were named Brookville’s “Citizens of the Year” by the local Chamber of Commerce. The Batzes have four children, seven grandchildren, a mortgage, two cars, crabgrass and a four-pound dog named Matilda. For the past 10 years Sally has been administrative secretary to the Brookville fire chief. Since Bob’s retirement, he has continued as an adjunct journalism professor at the University of Dayton where he has taught feature writing, media writing and sports writing for 24 years. He also serves as Public Information Officer for the Brookville Fire Department and Public Relations Liaison for the Butler Township Fire Department. | | | Bob's Previous Columns
The Day I Tried to Fix My Car - September 11, 2009
A Second-Hand Treasure Trove . . . in Black -
September 4, 2009
Dear Diary -
August 28, 2009
Where Have You Gone, Jim Dodt? -
August 21, 2009
Nothing Like a Sunday - August 14, 2009
Remembering Elmer Dobbs . . . My Grandpa - August 7,
2009
I’m Rich! - July 31, 2009
Weapons in School? Not Back in the Day! - July 24,
2009
Rain Falls in a Parking Lot, and America Blooms - July
17, 2009
Signs, Signs, Everywhere . . . - July 10, 2009
You Think You’ve Got It Tough? -
July 3, 2009
A Long-Ago Graduation, and the Curious Tale of Lionel
Baxter - June 26, 2009
Ugly Shirts With Silly Sayings - June 19, 2009
I’ve Won the Nationale (cq) Postcode Lottery! I’m
Rich! - June 12, 2009
The
Indignities Imposed Upon Our Canine Friends Must End! - June 5, 2009
How to Solve the World’s Problems: Get Rid of Fences!
- May 29, 2009
My Wife’s Love Affair With 430-Pound Coats - May 22,
2009
Finally! A Fish-Shaped Mailbox - May 15, 2009
Bob the Bad: Driving the Speed Limit - May 8, 2009
A Dreamy Morning - May 1, 2009
Mom’s Exaggerations - April 24, 2009
Good News,
You Grumblers! - April 17, 2009
The Store Owners’ Evil Plot Against My Wife - April 10, 2009 Bread and Milk for the Winter Weary - April 3, 2009 Goooooooooooooood Morning! - March 27, 2009 Grandpa’s Eternal Fishing Gear - March 20, 2009 Folding Brassieres and Other Strange Rules of Underwear - March 13, 2009 Rules for Naming Your Dog (Oh Yes, There are Rules) - March 6, 2009 Memories of The Music Man - February 27, 2009 Bob the Mechanic? Yeah, Maybe Not - February 20, 2009 The Crawl is Out of Control! - February 13, 2009 Nice to See You Again, Uh, Um, I’m Thinking . . . - February 6, 2009 Free Kittens? Some Bargain! - January 30, 2009 My Noteworthy Musical Career - January 23, 2009 Story of the Streets - January 16, 2009 A Self-Made Dawdler in Fast America - January 9, 2009 At 68, My Wild Urges Have Finally Arrived - December 19, 2008 Listen Up, TV Weather Reporters! - December 12, 2008 Seeking Shoelaces in the Superstore - December 5, 2008
Saturday at the Movies: For Kids, and Grandparents - November 24, 2008 Ol’ Henry vs. the Leaves - November 10, 2008 Opposites Attract, And Last a Lifetime - November 3, 2008 Super-Energy Just a Breakfast Away? - October 27, 2008 Up There in Years? Join the Ray Wilkinson Club! - October 20, 2008 The Many Things I Lose - October 13, 2008 Tell Me Your Story, Old House - October 6, 2008 You Get Organized! I’d Rather Not - September 29, 2008 Opportunity of a Lifetime! - September 22, 2008 The Adventures of the Oak Street Gang - September 15, 2008 There’s No Fun Like Map Fun - September 8, 2008 My Life as a Loser - September 1, 2008 Tangling Over Tweezers - August 25, 2008 There’s An Old Saying . . . - August 18, 2008 Fishing: It’s Not What It Used to Be - August 11, 2008 I’m 68, and I Don’t Care What You Think - August 4, 2008 Four-Way Stop at High Noon - July 28, 2008 And Now, A Column About . . . Wait, I Forget - July 21, 2008 Who Wants To Be a Hundredaire? - July 14, 2008 Good Luck Selling Marbles To an Eight-Year-Old - July 7, 2008 The Demise of the Doorknob: Part of the Conspiracy Against Things Bob Likes - June 30, 2008 I’m Back, But I Still Can’t Catch a Break - June 23, 2008 Rooching for Thingamajigs - March 31, 2008 My Maker Sends Duane to Check Up on Me - March 24, 2008 Proud to Be an American, and a Cleveland Browns Fan - March 17, 2008 AC/DC, Hip-Hop or Gospel, I Crank My Car Radio - February 25, 2008 If It Weren’t for Bad Luck . . . - February 18, 2008 I’m 68 Years Old and I’ll Loiter If I Want To - February 11, 2008 Leap Year, Schmeap Year! The Last Thing We Need is More February - February 4, 2008 Password for a Password - January 28, 2008 These New Years Resolutions Didn’t Last Long - January 21, 2008 Storm Approaching, So Why Do I Have to Go Grocery Shopping? - January 14, 2008 The Gift to Mark 45 Years of Wedded Bliss - January 7, 2008 My Magic Number is 6 - December 31, 2007 My Flashy Glove Notwithstanding, I Deny Having Taken Steroids - December 24, 2007 A Christmas Adventure and our Friendly Reindeer Savior - December 19, 2007 Come On: ‘Looks Like New’; Translation: Isn’t - December 10, 2007 I Need New Grandparents; How About You? - December 3, 2007 7 a.m.: No Time Like the Present to Call Your Pal - November 26, 2007 When Life Was Cheap - November 19, 2007 Vote for Me, Bill; I Mean It, Bruce - November 12, 2007 Rushing to the Mailbox for the Secret Decoder Ring - November 5, 2007 Who Thought I Would Want a Pet Parakeet? - October 29, 2007 Mounting a Comeback in the Argument Standings - October 22, 2007 When Was the Last Time You Smiled? Well, I Don’t Know Either! - October 15, 2007 Door-to-Door Sales and Loan Collecting Were Not For Me - October 8, 2007 Read This Column, But Only If the Time is Right - October 1, 2007 Batz vs. Batz in the Baby Likeness Battle - September 24, 2007 Little Jesse, You Have Quite an Act to Follow - September 17, 2007 The Undying Wisdom of Grandpa Elmer - September 10, 2007 I’ve Got Your American Idols Right Here - September 3, 2007 Need Hobby Ideas? Ask Your Wife! - August 27, 2007 I’m Now Married to the Bionic Woman - August 20, 2007 Dog Cages: 15 Miles Past the Gas Grills in the Super Store - August 13, 2007 Honk If You Are Grateful to a Soldier - August 6, 2007 Phone Books: Hotel Reading at its Finest - July 30, 2007 Born-To-Raise-Heck Bob - July 23, 2007 Leroy Zimmerman: Lucky To Be Last - July 9, 2007 Explaining the Release Rule to the Perfect Fishing Partner - June 25, 2007 Welcome to 2050: Another Day, Another $2,400 - June 18, 2007 Meet the Real American Idols - June 11, 2007 Penny Candy, Nickel Cigars, Dime Novels: I Remember That! - June 4, 2007 Help Me Get Disorganized - May 28, 2007 I'm Changing My Name to Bill - May 21, 2007 When Do You Find Time to Do Nothing? - May 14, 2007 Our Close, Personal, Complete Strangers Check In Again - May 7, 2007 As Mom Used to Say... - April 30, 2007 CSP is Catsup? And Other Tales of the Grocery Adventure - April 23, 2007 Sally vs. %$#& the Squirrel - April 16, 2007 It's the Bobber for Bob - April 9, 2007 The Perfect Piece for the Opunion Page - April 2, 2007 Uh, What Was I Saying? - March 26, 2007 Need Repairs? Don't Call Me - March 19, 2007 Why Do I Need a TV Station On My Side? - March 12, 2007 Meet the No. 1 Lolligagger - March 5, 2007 'After All, None Of Us Are Human' - February 26, 2007 Cheerios as a Thickening Agent, and That's Just the Start - February 19, 2007 The Curse of Anniversary Forgettance - February 12, 2007 Ode to Oddball Names - February 5, 2007 No Breaks for Bob - January 29, 2007 No Day Off For Ferris Batz - January 22, 2007 Get Your 'Snug as a Bug in a Rug' Home Now! - January 15, 2007 'Lordy, Flo, Don't He Look Like Junior' - January 8. 2007 E-Mail: The Worst of the Worst - January 1, 2007 You Know You're Getting Older... - December 25, 2006 Don't Forget to Remember - December 18, 2006 Personal Growth: Made It By a Whisker - December 13, 2006 Gift for Wife? Just a Few Small Suggestions, Dear... - December 6, 2006 I Wonder - November 29, 2006 I Hate Leaves - November 22, 2006 Thirty-Four Broken Laces Part of a Good Year - November 15, 2006 I Hung Up on the President's Mother - November 6, 2006 Orange You Glad This Wasn't Your Birthday Present? - November 1, 2006 Better Late Than Never for Costume Conquest - October 25, 2006 Compared to These, My Job's Not So Bad - October 18, 2006 Meet the N-E-W Bob - October 11, 2006 Enjoy Christmas Toy Quest While You Can - October 4, 2006 Read My Column? Please and Thank You - September 27, 2006 The Legend of Billy G - September 20, 2006 Awakening the DJ Inside Me - September 13, 2006 Songwriting's Easy Now, So I Might As Well - September 6, 2006 Memories Return With the Ferocity of a Tiger - August 30, 2006 No Complaints - August 23, 2006 You Know It's You, Bob! - August 16, 2006 Too Late to Start the Batz Human Billboard Business - August 9, 2006 You've Just Gotta Wonder - August 2, 2006Yo Sixty-Five Years of TV Time Flying - July 26, 2006 Here Comes Another Batz Moment - July 19, 2006 Vanity, Vanity. . . These License Plates are Vanity! - July 12, 2006 There's No Questioning Retirement - July 5, 2006 Wake Up and Smell the Old Sayings - June 28, 2006 Killing Time in the MRI Machine - June 21, 2006 I'd Be Lost Without Getting Lost - June 14, 2006 Sorry, Everybody - June 7, 2006 Where Have You Gone, Mr. Tap-Dancing Accordionist? - May 31, 2006 Too Late For My Appointment With Yesterday - May 24, 2006 No Pound-Packing Love for the Skinny Guy - May 17, 2006 You Just Can't Kill Swimmy the Fishy - May 10, 2006 His Jobs, Her Jobs - May 3, 2006 Forget It, Sport - April 26, 2006 A Song In My Heart, But From Where? - April 19. 2006 A Clear Sign of Spelling Decline - April 12, 2006 Shh! Off To The Library (Don't Tell Dad) - April 5, 2006 Hark! Whatever Happened to Old Sayings? - March 29, 2006 Next Week I've Got To Get Organized - March 22, 2006 Signs of the Times - March 15, 2006 Argyle Underwear and $12,000 Handbags: You Can't Beat E-Mail - March 8, 2006 The To-Do List to End All To-Do Lists - March 1, 2006 'Just Looking': Do You Know What That Means? - February 22, 2006 It's 34 Years Until My Next Helping of Respect - February 15, 2006 Stop Helping Me Through the Winter - February 8, 2006 My Big Chance To Become A . . . What? - February 1, 2006 The Food Network Has Changed My Life - January 25, 2006 Thank You, House Plants . . . Now Die! - January 18, 2006 Nothing Confirms Arthritis Like Lots and Lots of Tests - January 11, 2006 | | |