AN EDITORIAL on life in Loveland, Ohio

Written & Submitted for publication by: Don Tassone

I recently stood on a rooftop in downtown Loveland, watching a fireworks show, part of this year’s Hearts Afire celebration, as snowflakes gently fell.  It was breathtaking.

Don Tassone – Loveland Resident and author (Provided)

Snowflakes aside, it reminded me of watching a Fourth of July fireworks show just a few blocks away, in Kiwanis Park, more than 20 years earlier.

Our family was hosting three young girls from Japan for the weekend.  They’d flown to Cincinnati for an international piano competition.  I was with P&G, and my Japanese colleagues asked if we would host these girls from Kobe, two of them sisters.  We were delighted to do so. 

I picked them up at the airport.  Remarkably, without knowing me, but trusting my company and maybe Americans, their parents left their daughters in my care.

The girls didn’t speak English, and we weren’t sure what they’d make of the loud fireworks.  As it turned out, they loved them, oohing and ahhing like all kids looking up at spectacular bursts of color in the night sky.

At the end of that fun-filled weekend, we handed the girls back over to their grateful parents, who had been staying nearby.  They were accompanied by a translator, provided by P&G.  She told us the girls were raving about their experience that weekend. 

     “This is the most beautiful city in the world,” they told the translator.

     “Do you live near a park?” she asked us.

     “No,” we said.

     “The girls say there is a park behind your house.”

Our backyard had a swing set, like a lot of backyards in our neighborhood.  The girls from Japan played out there with our kids and the neighbor kids all weekend.  None of us knew Japanese.  Thankfully, play and laughter are universal languages.

We do indeed live in a special place.  My wife and I moved to Loveland nearly 32 years ago.  We raised our family here.  I’m very happy to call Loveland home.

The world is a dangerous place.  As I write this, people are wearing masks, and Russia appears ready to invade Ukraine.  Nonstop news reminds us of things going wrong.

Loveland is no sanctuary.  Life here is tough too.  But it’s a place where you can live in peace, take a walk or a bike ride along a quiet river and watch fireworks in the falling snow.

Don Tassone and his wife call Loveland home. He is retired from P&G and a published author. His latest book, “Collected Stories” , is due to be released March 21, 2022.

(Watch for more about his latest book here on Loveland Beacon)