Scottsdale to Las Vegas

Friday, April 30th

We left Scottsdale around 9:00, arrived in Las Vegas bout 4:00, which is a longer driver than we thought. It was a pretty interesting drive, all things considered, especially when we traveled through the Joshua Forest, with its strange looking trees, something out of a horror movie, or so it seemed. It was an easy drive until we got near Hoover Dam, which slowed things down quite a bit. It was interesting to see everyone was stopped by guards, to make sure there are no terrorists. We went about 15 miles an hour from about three or four miles before to the same after the dam. The dam road coming in, around Hoover, and beyond is being re=created, so that those who do not to stop, can bypass it. The engineering feat, of huge spanning bridges, of roads on the side of mountains, of mountains and hills being redone to accommodate a road is amazing.

Earlier, we stopped at a little town call Wickenberg, just off of 93, in a shop called Refried Beans. We bought four luminaries, and some silver salad forks, as well as coveting a number of other things. We then headed to Las Vegas, an interesting ride, though fairly desolate, with an occasional town or gas station. As we got beyond the Hoover Dam, however, it began to become more populated, and Las Vegas has the typical urban sprawl you see everywhere. It’s interesting to think that sixty years ago this was just a small desert town, surrounded by mostly desert and mountains, and now it’s a city of millions.
We arrived at Laura’s around 4:00, talked for awhile, had Asian shrimp cocktail, then veggie pizzas which were great. Pat and I went in the hot tub for a bit, before we all headed off to bed. I think we were really tired from the ride, as usual, but Laurie tends to stay up late, a result of her meds, I think, and just staying up late. It was a good day, fun to see them, especially Leah, who went to bed around 8:00, as she was exhausted from school and practice.

Morning Walk Then Off to the Casino with Dorothy

Thursday, April 29th. Scottsdale
Evie and I went for a walk this morning, and basically took a circular route behind the house, following the canal, heading up the Via Linda, crossing over to the other side of the canal, walking back along it, through scrub, on the edge of the gated community, until we hit another road to their West, crossed it, and headed back along the canal to their house. It was a lovely morning, in the 60’s, sunny, a perfect morning for a walk and we both were energized by it, I think. It’s a frequently used path, for joggers, walkers, even bicyclist, though it could be quite bumpy. The canal brings water from the mountains to Phoenix and it’s quite full, clear, and moves with energy. It makes you want to dive in it, though there are signs all over to keep anything out of it, whether people, trash, or fishing. The nicest thing about the walk is the backdrop of the mountains, green now in spring, but soon to turn brown in the hot of summer. They create a lovely view as we walk below them, and looking out the window of the house, they create a pleasing view, mostly now of green, a brief slice of the top of houses from the gated community, but mostly bushes, some tree tops, then the mountains.
We then went off to Frye’s, a humongous electronic and everything store about 21 miles away from Dad’s. It is a Best Buy, only three or four times a big, with everything imaginable. We shopped for about a half hour, looking at stuff Dad wanted, then we had a coffee, before heading back to the house.

After lunch, we went off with Dorothy, to a casino just up the road, which turned out to be about 20 miles away. It was packed with retirees, lots of Mexicans and native Americans, or so it seemed, and I really wondered about why/how in good conscience all these people could be gambling away their savings. I am increasingly getting curmudgeonly about this, about people wasting money, either at Costco or gambling, and though they may be able to afford it, it still bothers me thinking that they are wasting away money they need to survive. Who knows.

For dinner, we went to Chumpies, and we walked away stuffed, with corn beef sandwiches, onion rings, matso ball soup, and fries, of course. It was delicious but I never felt so stuffed, though not so stuffed that I didn’t’ pick up a napoleon and chocolate mousse cake for our late night snack. We ended up shopping at a store called Sprouts, a cross between Tradre Joes and Whole Foods. It was really a neat store, good bargains and great produce, making it worth while to go.

We watched The Good Wife, some b-ball and went to bed.

Quiet Day with Dad and Dorothy

Wednesday, April 28th, Scottsdale
Kind of a lazy day, as we hang out at the apartment and don’t really do much except head off to Costco to get some thing for dinner. Dorothy drove and got lost and it was a scary drive, both there and back as she drives quite fast, seems to have a difficult time finding her way, turns from the wrong lanes, and just doesn’t seem very confident. She blames it on her being upset with Ed, with his getting on her case, that she drives quite fine when he is not around. Let’s hope so. Because I am bored, I drive up the corner, get gas and go into Albertsons for some vermouth and cherries. We end up watching some television together, an hour of American Idol and The Good Wife, a show Dorothy likes which we did too.. An uneventful day, of Costco chicken, homemade soup for lunch, and not much else to do, unless we drive somewhere. It sad to think that Ed cannot really do much anymore, that the rest of his life will be spent in this small apartment/condo but in some ways, he is quite lucky, with someone to take care of him, a fine house, really all he needs at this time in life. Life diminishes as we get older, unfortunately, and the doing becomes less and less, as of necessity. Old age aint’ for the faint hearted, as Betty Davis said.

Santa Fe to Scottsdale

Tuesday, April 27 Santa Fe to Scottsdale: Route 25 to Route 40 East to Holbrooke
We got up at 6:00, as Cyrus was already up. Matt made coffee and got things ready for Cyrus’s breakfast, as I sat around and talked and played with Cyrus. He certainly is a talker; Matt made us some biscuits, offered up cereal if we wanted, and we all sat together for about 15 minutes before we headed off, and they all went their ways, Matt with Cyrus to pre school and work, Ligia to Albuquerque to teach. Our drive to Scottsdale took about nine hours though we thought it would be much less but there was no daylight saving time in Scottsdale. The ride was pretty interesting; heading down from Santa Fe to Albuquerque was busy, as lots of people were heading there from the Santa Fe area. We picked up Route 40 in Albequercue and followed it for a couple of hundred miles, till we reached Holbrooke, and then had a two to three hour ride on more scenic roads to Scottsdale. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant and had a good meal, though the carne aside was awfully tough. After the first hour out of Holbrooke, which was mostly desert like, we got into lovely areas of pines and mountains, and this continued most of the way to Scottsdale. We climbed quite high up into the mountains, then wound our way back down to valleys, all the time surrounded by pine forests, many of which seemed to have been burned, either through controlled burning of forest fires; it was hard to tell which.

We arrived in Scottsdale around 4:00 and it was well into the nineties outside. Dad and Dorothy were in good form, seemed happy to see us and we talked for a couple of hours before going off to their favorite restaurant, a Chinese place about five minutes away. It was an awfully good restaurant, lots of choices and excellent food. Plus the waitresses, owners, even bar tenders, tend to stop by and talk with the customers, which makes it much more appealing to anyone who comes back often. Ed told all his jokes and played his usual tricks, but they seemed to know him well enough by now that they take it in stride. The owner, Eddie, especially, seems to be able to charm anyone and knows how to play up to Ed as well as the ladies. Evie had a great salad, Thai with cabbage and chicken, which she loved. I had a noodle basket with shrimp, scallops, and kalamari. It was surrounded by broccoli so it was quite good. We came home, watched the Cavs win in the final minute and Idol for a bit and went to bed around 9:30 as we were really tired. Ed and Dot stayed up for a bit.

Colorado Springs to Santa Fe

Monday, April 26th: CS to Santa Fe
We left about 9:30, after getting organized and getting the kids off to school, though Hayden did not go as she said she was not feeling well. It did not go over too well with her parents, but she prevailed, as kids do, and when we left, she seemed much better and was watching tv.
The drive to Santa Fe was about five hours, as I expected, through interesting scenery for the most parts, some mountains to the West initially, which then disappeared and we had vast farm lands or grazing lands on either side of the road, which seemed to stretch forever. There were usually a few mountains off in the distance to the West, though not as apparent as in Colorado Springs. It must be a desolate life out here, as the towns as well as ranches or houses are few and far between, perhaps five to ten miles apart. We saw little if any agriculture, a few cows grazing, a few desolate towns, for almost a hundred miles or more. The town of Pueblo and then Trinidad, the last town in Colorado. When we got to within thrity miles of Santa Fe, to the town of Las Vegas, the landscape changed, and became much greener, more interesting, though hilly.
Santa Fe is a beautiful area, bigger than I thought, though the hills outside the city are green, with adobe homes of the wealthy, set back in them, mostly hidden. There are no housing tracks, like in Colorado Springs, perhaps a result of zoning, or the fact that Santa Fe is more an artistic community, less a military or retiree center, unless you are wealthy. We left Route 25, drove into the center of the city, and parked on a side street for a couple of hours. We were tired after the drive, hungry, so it was not as much fun as it could have been. We found a little restaurant, had a sandwich, felt a bit renewed, and then walked and window shopped, seeing almost nothing we liked. It was mostly Indian stuff, pottery, jrewlery, and art galleries, all high end, if they were really nice. Lots of native Americans had their wares for sail, on blankets, at one side of the square. It obviously was given over to them to keep them in one area. It was probably in the 50’s and we sat in the square for a bit, after getting tired of shopping and walking. I think we just didn’t want to shop or buy, so doing the window shopping was boring and ultimately, tiring. We did stop at a cool bookstore, coffee shop towards the end, which we enjoyed and should have gone in earlier. We did pass Café Pasqual but ti was closed, which was a good thing as we might have tried to spend more money.
At 5:45, we met Matt, Ligia, and Cyrus at Harry’s Roadhouse, on Old Pecos Rd, about a mile from their house. It’s clearly popular with the locals, a bit run down, but with character, and seemsto be run by Hispanics, perhaps some Native Americans. They had a menu of mosltly Mexican foods, with some other items thrown in. I had blackened catfish, with grits and collars. Evie had a great salad with chicken breasts. We had beers, margaritas. There son is a cute kid, well mannered, happy, and very talkative. He also seems to enjoy people and was not shy. Evie gave him his gifts, Jenka and a Lego truck, which he loved, and wanted to put together at the restaurant.

We headed back to their home abourt 7:30. About a mile from Harry’s, set back in the hills of pine and juniper, on a dirt road. There are lots of similar houses set up back on the mountain sides, with great views. There house is set on two acres, an adobe home, with two bedrooms downstairs, a lovely outdoor terrace overlooking the hills. We stayed in an upstairs room, built on top of their garage, basically a large room with a bed set in the center, used mostly by Matt as an office. Since Sunday was Ligia’s birthday, we had some left over cake that Matt had made. We looked at their photos of their trip to Turkey, which they had put in a bound album. It was really an amazing re-creation of their trip. The most fun was listening to them talk about how much they loved Turkey, how they had only great experiences with Turks, and how they loved Cyrus. It was good to hear as I worried about them venturing out to Cappadocia as well as Ephesus with a young child. We started talking about Ligia’s art project, so she took us into her studio, which they had built, a square room, about 50 by 30, with a 25 foot ceiling. She had been commissioned by the Philadephia Museum of Art to create an Victoria drawing room, along with three other artists. She had been working on it for over a year and it’s an gargantuan task, as she not only had to design it but also make all the pieces, whether sewing, cutting out fabric, painting, photographing, sawing, whatever. It was fun to hear her get excited about it, talk about its inspiration, the séances of this period, and how the project reflects her understanding of the relationship between the viewer and the art object. We all went to bed around 10:00 as they had also had a long day. It was a fun evening.

Soccer Games, Soccer Games

Saturday, April 24th

Today was soccer day, as Halle had pictures at 9:15, games at 10:00 and 11:00. Hayden had pictures at 12:15, game at 1:00. Drew ended up going early, the rest of us watched the first of Halle’s two games, though she did not want to play in the second. We stayed, however, till the end , went home for a quick lunch, then headed back to watch Hayden play. She showed more skill and aggressiveness, which is nice to see, though she needs to gain confidence and more skill, as do all of them. All the families were there, so it was fun to see them, though I did not see Eddie, just Stacy and Laurie and John. We relaxed in the afternoon; Jill and Drew went off to Costco, then out to dinner and we took the girls to Culvers, though Hayden felt sick, and Halle did not seem very peppy either. Hayden had gone to a swim birthday party, which may have been part of the reason she was not feeling well. When we got back, she felt better, and Drew and Jill were back. So we put the girls to bed, watched some tv, and went to head tired. I was not feeling that great, a bit nauseous though I slept well. A typical Saturday, it seems, of games and other kids activities. The wind has been wild the last few days, making it unattractive to walk outside, even stay outside long. It is a real factor in this part of the city, as they seem constant; if they lived closer to the mountains, in the city, I know it would be less of a problem. Here, out on the plains, the winds are just a constant, something you cannot get away from or ignore.

Return of Jill/Drew and Three Inches of Snow and Windy

Friday, April 23, CS

We woke up to three inches of snow and a howling wind, a bit of a surprise considering the weather did not necessarily predict it. The kids school was canceled as a result, which seemed silly, but as the day progressed, the weather became worst and the roads were fairly treacherous. Drew and I ventured out around 10:00 to head to Home Depot but ended up turning around, as the roads were bad, and there is little road maintenance in these areas because the snow is so sporadic. We did go out later to Safeway, a mile away for some booze and food, and by that time, the roads were at least decent. We lazed the day away, doing very little other than talk, watch tv, and play with te kids. We all watched the movie The Fantastic Mr. Fox, a highly acclaimed chldren’s film, but I am not sure the kids liked it that much. It did appeal to adults, so perhaps that’s the reason. Jill and Drew were to go to a going away part at a box in the baseball stadium but it was called off on account of the bad weather. As a result, we had the baked ziti, scheduled for Saturday night on Friday. It was delicious as usual and the kids loved it, especially Hayden. We put them to bed around 8:30, as both were very tired. Jill went to bed then as well, and Drew, Evie, and I watched a couple of Modern Family’s, and we then went to bed around 10:30, to a howling wind, some snow. The weather here really grates on you after awhile, especially Drew, who is sick of the winds, which weather anything outside rather quickly and make it hard sometimes to be outside. We took the dog for a walk earlier in the day and it was brutal outside, though sunny. We walked for about 20 minutes and I was exhausted from fighting the wind all the way back home.

School Day and Gymnastics Clss

Thursday, April 22, CS
We were up early, as Hayden wanted to prepare for her math test and we went over some of her sixes and sevens, getting her ready. We then went off to swimming, and because the class consisted of only two girls, the lesson lasted 30 minutes, a surprise. We then went home, and Evie and Halle worked on her numbers, as I went off to Safeway to pick up a few things and mail a letter. In the afternoon, I went off to Dick’s for something to do but did not buy as thing, as everything seemed so expensive, no deals to speak of and I really don’t need anything. The girls went to gymnastics at 4;15 and it was not so much gymnastics as an obstacle course, of running, jumping, balance beams, and parallel bars. The girls would move from one station to another, finish the set, and then go again. It was pretty tiring ultimately, and they came home exhausted. We let them play for an hour, got dinner ready, chili and spaghetti noodles and by the time we were through, it was time for bed. I watched the Cavs lose, then we watched The Daily Show, hilarious as he goes after Fox with a Black Choir, then The Office, and finally, about 10:30, Jill and Drew returned from Washington. They found their dream house but since the market is so hot there, there is likely to be many bids, so they are not overly optimistic. Hopefully, something will work out.

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN: Colum Mc Cann

A great book to begin with, as it traces the stories of twelve people, or there abouts. It takes place mostly in New York City, with the tightrope walker of 1974 as the organizing metaphor for the book. Almost everyone either sees or hears about the walk, and the fatal day also seem to have grave consequences for most of the characters. The novel starts with two brothers, the Corrigans, in Ireland, their family, their relationships with their father, mother, and especially the older brother, called Corrigan by all, who has this interest in the underside of the city, constantly spending his evenings with the drunks,the addicts, the poor. One is not quite sure where the novel is going, and when this brief opening ends, the next chapter begins with Corrigan, now a confirmed priest,living in the Bronx. His older brother Ciaran, comes to visit him, and because he has nowhere to go, and seems to be trying to find himself, he ends up staying with his brother, who embodies liberationist theology, in that he sees good in all, especially the poor, the out, the prostitutes, who he has befriended. He ends up dying in a car crash, after bailing out a young prostitute named Jazzlyn. She dies, too, leaving behind her mother Tillie, also a prostitute, who we learn much about in later chapters, how she became a streetwalker, how she ended up in jail, why she wants to see her daughter's babies, and why she finally commits suicide.

Working on Hayden's Math Tables, Halle's Numbers

April 21, 2010, Wednesday, CS
Halle woke Evie around 6:00, saying Hi Grandma, then started counting, 1,2, 3, then started shooting ahead. Evie told her to go back to sleep and she did. We had are usual scramble in the morning to get the girls off. I think this is typical of most households, getting kids ready for school in a timely fashion. It is always a war, as they want to watch tv, or dawdle, or fix their hair, or wear something else, without much regard to time. It’s kind of funny to think of this going on all around the world, parents begging their kids to get ready, then screaming, then sending them on their way. Hayden, however, adds another dimension as she also must have her room clean and neat before leaving. Fortunately, she gets up in a good mood each morning, and usually has enough time to get her chores done, as well as get ready. It’s always the last five minutes where things get harried. Today, she took two multiplication tests, on her 4’s and had perfect scores. She still is struggling, as she thinks learning it once is enough. She needs to continue to review and use or lose, as they say. Evie has really helped her and Halle the past few days; without her, I don’t know how Hayden would have been successful. Yesterday, she had a perfect score on her 3’s and was complimented by her teacher. Evie and I also talked about the fear of failure or looking dumb which often limits kids, especially our grandchildren. They all seem so sensitive and self aware, and don’t want to take a chance on something if it means they might be unsuccessful.
We picked Halle up at school today, took her to the Black Forest Coffee Haus, which was so crowded that we had to have our drinks out on the porch. It was warm enough fortunately, to enjoy it. For dinner, we had buffalo burgers, though the grill seemed to be low on fuel, so we had to cook them inside. The girls worked some on their math skills, but what amazes us is there ability to spend large amounts of time in the basement playing together. They really enjoy it, and cannot wait to get down their to play. They sure are good at amusing themselves and though they do have fights, it eventually settles down and they continue playing. Evie learned to let them settle it, as she did go down once, and things seemed to merely escalate. I read Halle Gorilla Moon and she went to bed easily. Hayden seems to always want me to come in an cuddle before she drifts off to sleep.

School, Swim Lessons, Walmarat

Tuesday, April 20th
The girls were in good moods this morning; Hayden awoke quite chipper, which helps, and she was talking non stop, as is her want. Halle slept in a bit, and because it was Tuesday, she did not have school, but swim lessons at 9:00. It’s a beautiful day, an easy ride to the Y, to sit inside a steamy pool, and watch Halle watch us as she swims, though she is getting better at not playing to her grandparents. She seems to really enjoy the lessons, especially the fact that there are only 2 other girls in her class, so she gets quite a bit of attention. After swimming, we went to Walmart, to get a few veggies, but mostly to get Halle a workbook for her letters and numbers. After much decision making, she finally picked out an erasable book, which seems perfect. We then stopped at Safeway, for strawberries and buns, and I picked up a couple bottles of wine and some BV for the lake. Since Halle has no school today, Evie has kept her busy with her letters, her alphabet, and taught her 4 Square and 1-2-3 O Lario. I took Cody for a couple of short walks, as it was sunny and warm, in the 60’s I would guess. I finished reading Colum Mc Cann’s As the World Spins, a wonderful book obstensibly about New York City, but really about people, loss, desire, and ultimately hope.
We had tacos for dinner, played twenty questions, as usual, and had pumpkin pie, made by Halle and Evie for dessert. The girls went to bed around 8:00 and I read Mr. Putter Walks a Dog with Halle as well as Goodnight Gorilla, Halle’s favorite book. We then watched Idol and went to bed tired.

School Day and Soccer Practice at the Y

Monday, April 19th
Both girls headed off to school, with Staci, and we were able to have a busy but relaxing morning. It was strange to have a quiet house, without little girls. We went for a long walk with Cody, and returned home to meet Halle and Madison at 11:45. Madison stayed over for the afternoon, and she and Halle played wonderfully by themselves, though the last hour they watched tv. Evie made them some great lunch, and Madison seemed to just eat and eat, especially the strawberries.
When Hayden got home, we had a snack of artichokes for the girls, and then went downstairs and played for about an hour. At five, we took the two girls to the Y for their soccer practices, Hayden going at 5:00, Halle at 5:30, so we were there for an hour and a half. All the moms were there, watching or waiting, and each team had at least two coaches, which was good. They worked on skills for the first half, then let them play the second half, a good introduction to the game. Not too much pressure, and it seemed to be fun for most of them. Hayden looked more aggressive and actually ran to or after the ball; Halle is a bit unsure but she has fun. We went home to a dinner of chili, which Hayden loves, and because of practice, we had little time after bed for them to play, so we literally started putting them to bed after dinner. Both girls play amazingly well in the basement, and they were upset they could not play that evening. I read Mr. Putter Bakes a Cake to Halle, then put her to bed. Evie has to explain to Hayden about the Two Moons, which she decided was a bit too mature, because both the mother and grandmother die at the end. We watched the Cavs win against Chicago, but missed out on John Stewart, as we are having trouble tivoing some of the shows.

Sunny Afternoon In Colorado Springs with the Girls

Sunday, April 18, 2010
I slept in till 6:00 and Evie seemed to have a good night as well, despite the fact that Halle, as usual, ended up in her bed. The girls watched some tv shows, ICarly until 9:00 when we took them to Safeways, for donuts with sprinkles, a Sunday routine according to Hayden. We picked up some food for the week, as well, and were back by 9:45. The girls then went to the basement to play, until we called them up for a bath.
We decided to go into the city for the afternoon, and it was so easy, just get on Route 24, head about 15 miles, and you are right there, at Acacia Park, right in the heart of the city. Fortunately, there was a playground there, and the kids enjoyed it for about an hour until they got buried. We decided to go for a walk, and eventually ended up at Josh and John’s, an ice cream parlor right next to the old CS theater. For 8 bucks, we got two small cones, home made though! We sat outside, ate the cones, tried to talk Hayden into sharing but she is not into that at the moment, despite our imploring. We headed back, played at the playground for about 15 more minutes, and because the storm clouds were coming in, we decided to head back. I did spend about 15 minutes in the Chateau Mountain shop, loaded with cool, expensive things, for the runner, hiker, rock climber, camper or skier. I liked lots of things but did not want to spend 65 for a pair of cargo shorts. I did look at some Marmot tall pants, but they had full length zippers on each side of the pant, and felcro fasteners at each side, making it quite complicated to get in and out. We got back just before the hail hit the area, a quite common occurrence in this part of CS. We had a dinner of salmon, spinach, and rice, all of which the kids enjoyed, except for the spinach. We tried to get them in bed early, but Hayden did not end up in going to sleep till nine, as Evie kept reading their book. Halle went to sleep earlier, as she seemed really tired. I read her The Moody Badger, a new book she really likes. Not much was on tv, so we went off to our caves for the night.

Home Alone with the Girls, Dinner at Culvers

We were all up early, around 6:30, and Jill and Drew left around 7:10 on a very foggy morning. Their flight leaves at 10:30 and I hope it leaves on time for DC. The girls got up just before they left, and watched a couple of tv shows, a nice relaxing way for them to start the day. We spent the morning at two soccer games, at the local Y Recreation Center. Halle’s group was a riot, especially Halle, who seemed totally unaware, refusing to chase the ball, even when it came her way, and standing and watching most of the time. I am not sure what instincts are at work, whether she is afraid, shy, fearing to make a mistake, or look foolish. She could be a good athlete, just needs to coaching and confidence. Hayden’s game was similar, as she stands mostly, arms held up in Davis style, and though she occasionally touched or kicked the ball, she was mostly afraid to engage the ball, or be aggressive and chase the ball. Again, I am not sure why, as Sierra, her best friend, though a two year veteran, is very aggressive and savy, as a player. I wish it would wash off on Hayden. She appears very shy, lacking in confidence, afraid or unsure of what to do. Driving twice to the rec center was scary, as you could hardly see 20 feet in front, and had to cross a couple of major high ways.
Sierra and her sisters came over after the game and they played downstairs for at least two hours, with no arguments, no crying, which is neat. Evie made them a great snack of yogurt stuffed strawberries, apples, and cheese, and they devoured it, loving the strawberries especially. Staci picked they up at 4:00, stayed to talk for 20 minutes. She seems really comfortable with us, which is neat, and likes to talk…she is really a good friend for Jill, a great Mom.
I took Cody and the girls out for a walk; Hayden ran with him most of the way, and since the rain had stopped, and the fog had lifted, we stayed out for about 45 minutes. Hayden really seems to enjoy walking Cody, even wanted to go farther, but we saw a group of boys with paint guns, and she wanted to head back to the house. She fell once running with Cody, skinned her knee and hands, but didn’t cry which was neat.

For dinner we headed to Culver’s, a new restaurant from Wisconsin, that Hayden loves, with their butter burgers. The burgers were so so as were the fries, but I would like to go back because they have a great menu, with walleye snadwichs, barbecued pork, pot roast sandwichs, even roast beef sandwiches, which I think will be better than the burgers. It is a pretty interesting set up, filled with fresh, young looking guys and gals, no low trousers here…just a brief taste of America in the 50’s actually, so it seemed. They had fried cheese curds on the menu, something I want to try next time.

We go home, the girls watched some tv, and since they were really tired, we put them to bed around 8:30. Hayden and I started reading a book, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, and on the first page, the little girl talked about being ‘pulled up like a weed, and moved to Euclid, Ohio.” What a shock, and I find out that the writer actually grew up in South Euclid. The book is actually quite well written, funny, with a great descriptions. Hayden seems to love it.

Talking with Drew about Iraq and the Future

Friday, April 16, 2010

I actually slept in till 7:15 this morning, which makes a huge difference in my day. The girls even slept in a bit, so we watched Morning Joe till about 7:45 when they got home. Both as usual, we full of it, especially Hayden, in a great mood, after her fit last evening over cookies. Stacie came by, picked up Hayden, dropped off Madison, was back by 8:30, to pick up Halle and Madison and take them off to pre school, a really nice time saver for Jill. I then went for a long walk with Cody, about 45 minutes, along the pathway, which winds its way through the various housing developments. It’s really a neat trail, a great place to talk and ride a bike, as it’s all cement walkways, and connects with various neighbornhoods as it winds its way through the housing developments. I think I wore out Cody, as he came in, filled up on water, and collapsed on the floor, and hasn’t moved since.

We head off to Costco at 1:00, after a lunch of chicken/artichoke/cheese sausages from Costco. We went to Costco to stock up on veggies for the week, met Drew there, and went to AT&T to get our phones fixed. Then off to drop Drew’s car off in the boonies somewhere, and came back to the house. Around 4:00, Drew and I went out for a beer at Frankies and had a good talk about his experiences in Iraq. They really were responsible for everything, from training troops, to setting up networks of contacts, to hunting bad guys, to mediating disputes. He seems fairly optimistic about he Iraqis, that they seem to have stepped up and want things to work, though it’s a long way to a civilized democracy. He seems to have made friends with lots of Iraqis, from various levels, troops to generals, and established some lasting relationships, if he ever had to go back. He seems to think most Americans will be out in a year, with a token army left, perhaps 40,000, though of those, 20,000 will be support for the other 20,000, and in a country that size, that won’t be much help. In other words, things are in the hands of Iraqis next year, to make or break. We also talked about how difficult it is to come home after 9 months away, how he and Jill have talked about the difficulties they will face, how he cannot walk in and expect Jill to do things his way. He seems very patient and empathetic. He also wants to be with the girls in the future, one of the reasons he will most likely retire in four years, 3 in Washington, then hopefully one more before he retires. There is a chance he could be given a battalion but the competition is so severe he thinks it’s unlikely, so he doesn’t think he will go for it, though I know he’s curious to see if he would be chosen. It would mean another move for the family, for a year of two, then retire, but he is always aware of the stress on families, and he wants his life settled by the time Hayden is in junior high. He did tell me briefly about a terrible story, a young 13 year old, the daughter of one of his 10th group soldiers, committed suicide a couple of months ago in their home. He used that as an example of how difficult it often is for family’s, not just the wives, but also children. He also mentioned that only one of his group died in this rotation, a result of a truck rolling over, a non combat accident, and this was the fewest injuries ever. We came home to a dinner of barbecued chicken and noodles, played with the girls till 9:00 and then put them to bed. Jill and Drew worked for the next hour, getting organized, and we all went to be fairly early, around 10:00 as they had a big day tomorrow.

Swimming Lessons with Halle, sushi with Jill

Thursday, April 15, Colorado Springs

Unfortunately, I woke up at 4:30, stayed in bed until 5:30 and got up. Drew had taken off at 4:30, as he was going on a 7 mile run with some buddies. It’s kind of neat to know that these guys enjoy pushing themselves, keeping in shape, and running in enjoyable places. The girls got up, as usual, a bit after seven. Hayden was in rare form; she lays out her clothes on the floor each morning, as if on a paper doll, so I took a picture of her. She is a riot, the way she cleans her room, makes her bed, and gets all this stuff done before she leaves for school. At 9:00, we took Halle to the Y for her swimming lessons. Three little girls and an instructor worked an hour on learning how to kick, put your head under water, and practice the crawl strokes. It was intolerably warm, so I stripped down to my tee shirt, read some, and watche Halle spend most of the time watching to see if we were watching her. There was a plethora of life guards on hand, as they almost outnumbered the people in the pool. The Y is so convenient, and as a small work out room, and even so classes. We were home by 10:00, got cleaned up, and around 1:00, Jill and I went out to eat Sushi, at the mall, about twenty minutes away on CareFree. It was quite good, especially the Miso soup….spent 41 bucks with tip, a bit pricey but worth it , as Jill and I get to talk in a good way. We then went to Target, a crummy grocery store, and on to the base, Patterson Air Force, where we sat and waited for Halle’s prescription for a urinary infection. It’s interesting that if you are in uniform, you go to the head of the line, the rest of us just wait our turn. I came home exhausted, since I was up so early, and took a power nap, before heading off the gymnastics class for the girls, at 4:15. We sat behind a class window, watched the kids watch us, as they went through the various elementary moves of a gymnast. It seems a pretty nice way for them to spend an hour, and get in touch with their bodies, how to use them, bend them, and enjoy doing something physical. Plus they can seem some progress from week to week, either bending more, learning how to do a back bend, or climb up the rope higher.
We went home and made a stir fry from the left over pork, with veggies and oyster sauce, though good, it was not great. We had cookies, made from Jill’s cookie dough for dessert, and Hayden had a fit when Jill would not let her have any more. She ended up throwing things around, then went to bed in tears. I went in to calm her down, told her to bad boy stories, and by the time Evie got it, she was able to laugh at herself, which was nice. Halle went to bed easily with Evie as I told stories. Drew got home just about bed time, as he was at a going away party for a friend. We sat around and talked about their move to Virginia, and went to bed about 10:15, after a highball or two, and some munchies.

It's Nice to Have Drew Home

Wednesday, April 14, Colorado Springs

I was up at 5:30, almost beating Drew up. We had coffee and talked about his experiences for about twenty minutes, before he had to go to work. Halle got up around 7:15, cuddled on my lap till Evie got up, about a half hour later. We say around and talked, the girls had breakfast, and we took pictures of Hayden in her school outfit, since it was dress up day. She certainly seems to have a good sense of fashion, and knows what she wants to wear. She wore a long scarf, knitted, around her neck which really looked cute. Stacy picked up Hayden, dropped off Madison for ten minutes, then picked up both girls again, and took them to pre school. After taking Cody for a walk, and sitting around reading and watching tv, we went to pick Halle up at 11:30 at her pre school in the Black Forest Region of Colorado Springs. I learned the way, so that we would be able to pick her up next week. We came back, hung out for a bit, ate lunch, then picked Hayden up at 1:45, as we were taking her to her orthodontist appointment in the city. We met Jill there, played with Halle in the waiting room, then headed back. We stopped at Sonic, got the girls ice cream with mm’s, and they loved them, of course. We came back, played restaurant with the girls, and Drew ended up coming home around 5:30. We had some wine before dinner, two porktenderloins with salad, rice, and roasted cauliflower which the girls loved. Evie worked with Hayden on her times tables, and the girls ended up going to bed around 8:30. Halle wanted me to lay down with her, which I did, and she fell asleep within ten minutes. What a cutie. We watched part of Idol and Modern Family, then went to bed alittle after 10:00. Drew was tired, as he is always up early, and the next morning, he was going on a long run through the mountains, so he needed some sleep.

Kansas City to Colorado Springs

It took us ten hours, 582 miles, to get from Lee’s Summit to Colorado Springs, quite a ride. It was a beautiful day until we crossed into Kansas, when the winds picked up, and we were literally blown about for five hours. I am sure the winds were somewhere in the 50’s, and even trucks were slowing down to make up for it. We stopped at a rest stop, and the doors literally blew out of our hands, when opened, and the napkins in the door pouch were blown about the stop. It was shocking how strong it was, as well as a bit scary. At times, we could see huge dust storms in the distance; eventually we would reach them, and for about ten seconds, it was difficult to see in front of us, but then it would clear up. It was also strange to see signs and gates which were there to announce the closing of the road, no doubt in the winter. Clearly, with out the gates, trucks would have tried to make it. The ride through Kansas was desolate and monotonous, flatlands on either side of the road, vast fields of brown, black, and some green, seemingly ending only at the horizon. A few spots broke the monotony, a farm or house or barn, or whatever, with towns every 20 or 30 miles. One can see how horrific it most of been in the thirties, and be a farmer in the dust bowl. Even now, the winds were blowing dirt around and if the fields had been fallow, with no growth just dirt, I am sure it would have been worst. Along the road were bizarre and extreme religious signs, one even saying , “Who is John Galt?” Most were about Jesus, references to churches in the various towns, and some mentioned abortion. Clearly, this is a very religious and conservative state, the perfect nesting place for the likes of Bob Dole although John Kerry does not seem to fit in. We left 70 at Liman, and went a back road to Colorado Springs, a much more interesting drive of about an hour on RT. 24. The landscape was a bit more interesting with some groves of trees, occasional towns, mostly very dusty and run down, with occasional ranches, mostly with huge acreage, off in the distance. It must be lonely living out in these areas, though I saw a school bus picking up kids but neighbors are quite a distance. Farming is a lonely profession, one where you rarely get together with neighbors, except on occasional trips to the store or in a time of trouble.
We arrived at 5:00, having left at 8:00 and gained an hour. Halle ran out to hug us, whereas Hayden played coy and the mature girl, staying in the house, waiting for us to come to her. We had a dinner of pizza, as the girls had both been to the doctor that day, Hayden with headaches, Halle with a urinary track infection. The girls, as usual, were quite crazy the first night, hilarious and high spirited. Hayden never stopped talking once you got her going. Evie read them a story and I told them a bad boy story, and they were in bed by 8:30. Drew seems good, after his nine months in Iraq, though he continues to be very busy tidying up the groups return from Iraq. He looks good, in shape, and usually heads to work around 5:30 in the morning, in order to get in a workout. I was really exhausted from the drive, so I went to be around 9:30 there time, 10:30 Tommy’s time.

Playing Hookie with Marlena and NIxk

The kids played hookie from school today, which was nice, and Mary even decided to cancel their practices this afternoon, so we could relax and spend more time with them. We got up early, as usual, Marlena following about 7:15, Nick around 8:30. After breakfast, we packed a backpack, and headed off to their ravine and creek, a walk that Marlena especially loves. She lead the way, remembering my telling her about the Turkish idea that a donkey is a good leader, and it was a lovely morning, sunny, in the high 60’s, perhaps 70’s, and all the trees were either with bud or beginning bloom. The creek was way down, which surprised us, but it had enough flow in various places for the kids to talk in it, from rocks, to rstones, to the grassy sides. We walked to the end to the culvert under the road, then headed back,, stopping for a picnic lunch at the usual spot, where a bridge has been built across the river, for, it look like, residents to cross. Either side of the ravine is watched over by usually large multistory homes, with great yards, that back into this reserve. We ate apples, peanut butter, pretzels, and walked in the the creek, before heading home. By the time we got back, we were all a bit sweaty
From the heat and it felt good to sit down and relax abit. Around 12:45, we headed off toe BW 3’s, the wing spot that Nicolas loves. It was pretty empty, which was nice, and we ended up playing some of the games free. They are portable, and you can bring them to your table, basically a screen with touch screen elements. Nick devoured his dozen, ate all the fries, and really enjoyed himself. Marlena had chicken tenders, ate most, and it was a good idea. On the way to the movie, How To Tame A Dragon, we stopped at a gas station, loaded up on candy and went to the movie, returning about 4:30. It was a cute movie, with a somewhat nerdy Viking kid, who ends up befriending rather than killing the dragons, which goes against the Viking culture and makes him an oucast. Of course, he ends up saving the village, changing their attitudes towards dragons, and they all live together, happily ever after. We went home and sat outside, waiting for Tom to come home, playing red rover with Marlena. We ended up eating outside again, a quite good dinner of Costco chicken, rice, brussel sprouts and salad. It was fun to just sit outside and enjoy the outdoors and talk with Mary and Tom after the kids went off to play. It’s a great time to play outside for the kids, just after dinner, when it’s still light, the sun has cooled, and they have been trapped inside all winter. After the kids went to bed, we watched Dancing wit the Stars, then went to bed around 10:30. I told Marlena another bad boy story, about Wanda Hickey…she said your friends sure had strange names, like Booger and Bob the Slob. We had a good visit with Tom and family. I think Mary enjoys us, or at least does dislike having us there. We both felt a bit guilty about leaving after four days, but we think Mary has had enough, and we are not sure what we would do during the day without the kids. Maybe we are wrong to think that, and we probably could have amused ourselves during the day by going into The Plaza, or when Jeannie was there, visiting her and kayaking or something like that. At least we will be returning in a couple of weeks, and we will see them again.

A Master's Sunday in KC

Sunday, April 11, 2010

I was up early as usual, with Bella sitting on my lap, and read most of the various newspapers.  Then Evie got up, Marlena, and Mary, then Tom, and finally Nick as usual.  That boy likes to sleep.  Evie made three recipes of buttermilk pancakes,  and they were devoured by the gang.  Tom and Mary were thinking of going to church, but we were so far behind, that they decided to miss it this weekend.  Since Jean is coming over this afternoon, we are going off to Costco soon to pick up stuff from their for dinner the next two nights.  Tomorrow, both Marlena and Nicolas have practice, so dinner will be a bit impromptu.  As I sit here writing, this, Marlena is on her computer, singing along with Clup Penguin, some on line website she enjoys playing,  I think some of her friends are also members, and they can communicate with each other.  It is a beautiful day, in the 70’s already and it’s not yet noon. 

We had Jean over for dinner, and Tom cooked amazing filets for all.  We had asparagus and great bread, and listened to Jean tell us how to do things, as usual.  We ate outside, which was really nice, and had a nice visit. Earlier in the day, we all went to Costco, no church this Sunday, and got stuff for dinner and we bought a cooler and flag.  Most of the afternoon was spent relaxing, as it was in the 80’s and watching Mickeleson end up winning the Masters.  Sunday evening we just hung out, and I told Marlena a bad boy story, which she loved.  She is an amazing reader, as you can imagine, and the books Evie bought her are a stitch, specially if you read it with her.  Nick had buddies over most of the day, and they played various games outside, though not as much as the day before. 

                                                                        

A Lazy Day in KC

Saturday, April 10^th

We, or at least, I had a pretty lazy day, sitting around most of the day, watching the Masters with Tiger, and the kids played outside with Evie most of the time.  I did go off with Tom around 1:00 to watch him and Nick hit golf balls at the local golf course.  We spent about an hour; Nick seemed to enjoy it, and Tommy hit pretty well, though ends up hurting his back.  He and Mary worked out earlier in the day, as we watched the kids.  Later, after golf, Tom and I went to pick up pizza from Papa Murphy’s for dinner, as he and Mary were going out for dinner with the Burlingames.  We were going to baby sit the kids, as well as Peyton, Nicolas’s body.  I worked out with Nick a bit, showing him some things to think about when he plays basketball, though it’s going to be hard for him to remember them or put them in practice.  He seems to play a bit timid, though he can be aggressive when he wants.  He needs to hone his instincts, both offensively and defensively, as he tends to not where to go to get the ball offensively, and defensively, he needs to be more aware of where the ball is.  He is, however, a pretty good three point shooter, and when he and a buddy played ‘around the world’ with me, he was the winner.  Evie and the kids literally spent the day outside with the neighbors as well as Marlena and Nick.  They played lots of four square, and we introduced them to SPUD which none seem to know.  It was like a playground here most of the day, with adults sitting outside in lawn chairs, while the kids and Evie played games.  Marlena really enjoys playing games and surprises all of us with her toughness, whether being hit in the face with the ball or falling down.  Tom and Mary left around 7:00 and the kids continued to play outside until dark, though Marlena was inside, having taken a bath and gotten ready for bed.  She was tired; she ended the day reading Love That Dog, a book of narrative poems which she loves.  She is a very expressive reader, always ebullient, and fun to be with.  She is always up except when tired or hungry, though that can change quickly with some food.  After Marlena went to bed, we watched Raising Arizona with the boys.  I think they liked it well enough, mostly because of its quirkiness and bizarre humor.  They finally went to bed at 11:00 and Evie and I ended up staying up and watching Real Life with Bill Maher until. Midnight.  We then went to bed, just as Tom and Mary were coming back from their restaurant, a sushi place.  Nick really seems to enjoy Marlena, and I was tickled to watch him play four square with her, careful to make sure he did not hit the ball too hard, making sure she could play.

Kansas City

I was up early, to no coffee, so off I went to Hardy’s and got cups for all of us. When Mary came down, she got it working, but we enjoyed it. Evie went off at 8:00 to a breakfast at Marlena’s school with Mary, returning around 9:00. Evie and I went shopping at 9:30, Evie to TJ Maxx, me to breakfast at Panera’s, then Dicks for socks, and Best Buy to look at a GPS. Evie bought some clothes for our weekend in Washington. We went to Marlena’s school for lunch, waiting out side her classroom until the kids lined up to go to the cafeteria. We sat with her and her classmates, which was fun, and the boys certainly seemed to pay lots of attention to her, as she is a cutie. I pity Tom and Mary when she gets older. We didn’t eat, just talked with the kids, and when they went to recess, we headed home. Evie came home and tried on her clothes, and those that did not fit, we took back to TJ”s, to get it out of the way. We also got a car wash.
It’s now almost 5:00 and we are waiting for Tom to come home to go out to eat before Marlena’s baseball game at 7:30. We are going to BW3’s before the game. The weather has been cooler than yesterday, in the low 60’s, lots of wind, though it is not raining, which is good since it was predicted to rain. The Cavs are on tonight as well, so we are taping it before we go off to Marlena’s game.

Cleveland to Effingham, IL, to Kansas City

We arrived in Effington yesterday, after about 8 hours at 4:30 or so we thought, settled in a Hampton Inn, watched Tiger on the Masters, had some mannies, and ended up going to the Lonestar Steakhouse for dinner. It was actually good, as I had a burger with mushrooms and cheese, and Evie had chicken tortilla soup, which was quite good. We talked with a guy who travels all over for Westfield Insurance in Medina, which virtually owns the town of Westfield. We realized after eating that we were an hour ahead, so was earlier in the evening then we thought. We watched tv for awhile, went to bed, and fortunately, I slept in until 6:15, central time. The hotel had a great breakfast bar; we took our times, something we don’t usually do, and didn’t leave till about 9:00 because we didn’t want to get to Tom’s till about 3:00, just in time to meet the kids from their school bus. Ellen called as we were driving; they too were on the road, heading to Linda’s for her birthday. Jeannie valled, and we set up a time for her coming over on Sunday. And Tom called, said we would eat at 6:00 and then head off to Nick’s b. The weather has been great today, sunny and warm, and we expect it will be in the 70’s for the entire weekend, great for playing with the kids. For some reason, this ride to KC is not very interesting, perhaps because we are on highways the entire way, or perhaps it’s the flatness and sameness of the terrain, with one sprawl after another interspersed with some woods or farms. We arrived about 3:30, in time to meet Nick and Marlena from the bus. We ended up playing outside, Evie teaching the kids how to play four square, and Marlena loved it. We had salmon for dinner, a good salad, and headed to Independence to watch Nicolas play basket ball. His time finally won a game with me there; they played a much bigger but less skilled team. Nick hit a three pointer, which was nice to see, and he plays with a nice group of kids. Bret, his coach, is a dedicated basketball aholiic, or so it seems. He spends an inordinate amount of time practicing and playing. Tommy said they play up to 120 games a year, which is amazing for kids that young.

Jamestown to Cleveland and Holzheimers

We left the lake about 3:00PM on Wednesday, April 7th, and went into Euclid, to stay with Linda and Rich for the night, and celebrate Linda’s 70th birthday. We arrived about five, and relaxed till about 6:45, when the Gails and Richie arrived, just as we were about ready to sit down for dinner, a typical occurrence at Linda’s, I might add. It doesn’t seem right to be there unless at least one family, and two or three kids are around. We had a nice dinner, lamb chops, and the kids, Connor and Emily, even seemed to enjoy sitting down at the table and talking with us. Connor, especially, was effusive, a funny kid, so different from his usually quiet self. Emily, too, was cute, sitting on my lap happily during dinner, calling me Santa Claus. Kirstin and Kevin seem to be doing well, though Kirstin has to teach in Cleveland a couple times a week. The boys are really cute, involved insports, Danny with baseball, Connor with track right now though he loves volleyball. It’s hard to believe he will be in high school next year. He still has a special place for Evie, hugs here, and likes talking to her. We went to bed about 11:00 and I got up at 6:00, and had about an hour before Linda and Rich got up. We talked until about 8:30 when we headed off for the West, a rainy gray day unfortunately, though I don’t really mind it. It is interesting when we get together with Linda and Rich. As usual Rich dominates, telling numerous stories we have already heard. And we feel a bit reiticent talking about our kids, as we don’t want to come off as bragging. And real or not, we get the feeling that they resent(too strong of word) our kids success. Rich especially can say though terrible things, about his grandchildren mostly. It makes you wonder about what kind of a doctor he might have been. I assume, when in an office, he assumes an entirely different persona, which is not unusual. I know I am a different person in the classroom, working with students, much mor e patient and seeking understanding than at home, where my reactions are often more colored by emotion and past experience. They are very fortunate to have their grandkids so close, and they are equally fortunate in the fact they all get along so well, and are all so well behaved and doing well, whether socially or in school and athletics. In fact, a lot of their time is spent with the grandkids, driving them around, attending sporting events, even helping to coach, as Rich often does with volleyball. Earlier in the day Grace and Sophie came over, bringing daffodils for Linda; Sophie was in a mood, wouldn’t smile until, when they left, Rich gave her some chocolate lollipops which put a huge grin on her face. Grace is growing up, turning into a young woman, still a bit quiet, getting taller, and her face is filling out a bit. As I write this, we are driving around Columbus, on our way to Tommy’s. We will stop somewhere short of St. Louis, relax, maybe watch some of the Masters on tv, and no doubt, head off West early in the morning.

JEFF IN VENICE, DEATH IN VARANASI: Geoff Dyer

This is really two quite different stories, one told in the third person, about a effete journalist from London, named Jeff Atman, who has been sent to cover the Bienalle, an art show in Venice(he ends up having a torrid love affair with an American art dealer named Laura). The second story, told in the first person, tells of the gradual disintegration or growth of the narrator, who may or may not be the Jeff referred to in the first story. Both give amazing accurate pictures of the cities, both are centered on water, in Venice the canals, in Varanasi, the Ganges River. The Venice story mostly revolves around his infatuation with Laura, their erotic love making, passionate feeling for each other, as they move from one art party to another. It ends with both leaving for home, with the agreement they will keep in touch. It's clear that Jeff has been very unhappy with his life, with his job as a writer, that in many ways, he is a failure to himself, someone who enjoys the pleasures of appetite too much, mostly woman, alcohol, and cocaine. The second story has a similar Jeff but we are never sure. He comes to Varanasi to write an article, ends up staying, going native, slowly falling apart, and by the end, we are not sure if he will live. He has definitely been seduced by Hinduism, as he ends up frequenting the various temples, swimming in the river each day, wearing a dhoti, and mostly ignoring Westerners. His health is failing, but he seems to have bought into the idea of impermanence, of desiring nothing, of going with the flow, mostly of ridding himself of the Western disease of waiting(for something), never living in the present. His previous life, no doubt, has been unfulfilling and he has fallen into the lap of a kind of life he might be better suited for...of doing nothing, believing in nothing, and just existing. The novel ends somewhat enigmatically, as you are not sure whether he is hallucinating the finding of a new god, that of a kangaroo, of what it means, or whether it's just as ridiculous to him as the rest of the Indian deities. Either way, he seems completely exhausted, physically and mentally, and the novel just stops.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL: Film

I had heard this was a pretty good film but, as usual, because it sounded so silly, I ignored it until my sister in law, Elaine, recommended it and almost forced me to take it out of the Smith Library. I am glad she did. At first, I was a bit bored, as the movie begins slowly, with Lars living in a shed, just next to his parents house, where his brother is now living with his pregnant wife. We are not quite sure why he is so quiet, such a recluse socially, though he does work, a bit corny, at what seems to be a technology company, though I am not sure. He literally refuses to have anything to do with his sister in law, preferring to be alone. It's only after a colleague shows him a website where you can buy an anatomically life size doll of a woman. Lars seems to ignore this but the next thing we know, a package has arrived at his home. This is where the movie begins, as Lars takes the doll, and treats her as if she is real. Clearly, it upsets his family, who think he is going crazy. After taking him and his girl, to the doctor, an empathetic and patient doctor/psychologist, they are reluctantly convinced that to Lars, she IS real, a trick perhaps of his brain or his emotional make up. Slowly the family adjusts, reluctantly treat her as real, and we see the town, too, perhaps too easily, take her in after an initial horror. Gradually, we see everyone rally around, the hairdresser, the dress shop, the church, and the friends in the office. Lars even takes her to a party, where everyone seems to know about Lars and his girl, and they treat them as if she is normal. The doctor was smart enough to have Lars come back each week, and gradually she realizes that much of what he projects on his girl really offers a door into his own psychology and problems. Clearly, he is autistic, at least we learn this, and no one has diagnosed it, nor is it mentioned in the film. He begins to fear for her after she refuses his proposal, and she quickly goes downhill. Neighbors come over and sit with him, as she slowly dies. The funeral is attended by most of the town, and a fellow office mate, a girl of course, who he slowly has begun to notice and even court(subtly), walks off with him at the cemetery and the movie ends, with the audience assuming he is now ready to fit into the real world, at least we hope he is. The movie is slow to get into but if you are patient, like the town, we begin to buy into the movie, the illusion, and are touched by the goodness of the family, the town, and all who know him. His sadness and mourning for his girl is real, heartfelt, I suppose, and we too mourn his passing. Ryan Gosling, who plays Lars, is wonderful, as is his girl friend. She, especially, is endearing, not beautiful but attractive in a different way. It ultimately is a feel good movie, and we are emotionally drained by the end of the movie and, like Lars, we miss his girl.