One of the best things about using a song as the plot to our story was we didn’t have to start the project from scratch.  However, there was room to use our imagination.  The song dictated that the story would be set in Ohio, but where?  Glenn liked the idea of using a small town (“It just had that feel to me.”). In fact, it ended up becoming an important plot point giving tension to the story by creating a contrast between life in small town Ohio and big city LA.  So, we researched some real life small towns in Ohio and asked my grandfather, who lives in Cleveland, for his suggestions.  He suggested a town named Berea, but in the meantime, Glenn had “discovered” Chardon. 

I checked out Chardon (which is where I found the statistics discussed by the narrator) and agreed that Chardon was an excellent choice.  It was the right size, has a nice town square with a gazebo, and most importantly, has a familial connection (my grandparents lived there for almost ten years).  A visit to Chardon settled it, we had our town. 

Next we needed a diner. From the beginning of the project we knew that we were going to use a diner as the setting for much of the action (or inaction as the Volleyballers seem to do more talking there than anything else).  That was all Glenn.  He has always been fascinated by diners.  Not just any kind of diner, but true authentic diners that were built in one piece and then driven to their location.  Diners filled with counters and stools where if you aren’t looking out a window, you’re staring at stainless steel. 

I too have always liked diners, although it was more about the food for me.  I am a fan of breakfast food, fried food, burgers, and ice cream-all the standard diner fare.  Apparently, my father and I aren’t alone. One day as I was cleaning (or trying to avoid cleaning) I was flipping through the TV channels and discovered “Al Roker’s Diner Destinations” on Food Network.  Two of the diners featured were Chris and Jimmy’s right outside of Cleveland. Chris and Jimmy’s are connected in the middle, but are actually two separate diners.  During our road trip to Chardon, we took a detour to Chris and Jimmy’s for dinner.  Both diners were great, but for whatever reason we were more drawn to Jimmy’s. Unfortunately, both diners closed in April of 2007. Information about their diners is still available at Ohio Diners.

The song also dictated that Tracy would move to LA. Even though the book is finished I’m still trying to convince Glenn we need to take a research trip to California. 

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