A Weekend To Look Forward To--- With The Grandchildren

Cookies Decorated by Olivia and Marlena

Dad, Mom and Son 

It's 7:00, another clear morning, 36º outside, a frigid 18º at Chautauqua, with lots of snow still I assume. Weather here in KC has been great since we arrived and should stay that way through the rest of our stay.  It's always strange to wake up in someone else's house; everything is different, from the chair, to the view, to the coffee maker, to the wake up times for everyone and the morning routines, radio or TV or silence.  Right now it's silence until Marlena gets up, who is usually the first one up after me.

Black Friday was sunny and cool and because Nick was down with a cold and allergies, we mostly hung out at the house though we did take a short excursion to the Mall, to see how wild it was and Tom picked up a Christmas tree, artificial, in four parts with lights.  In five minutes, we had it set up with the lights turned on. Amazing invention. Where were these trees when I was driving off to the local farm or parking lot, to pick out the 'perfect tree', which was never perfect when you got it home. And then you had to struggle to put it in the stand, and fuss with it until it was straight enough to please the family, like something out of Chevy Chase's Christmas film.  Evie and Mary also ran in to Old Navy because they were having a 50% off sale on everything but the check out lines were the length of the store so we just went home. When we got home, we checked to see if the nine foot tree fit in the living room; it did so Mary and Marlena and her friend Olivia spent the next hour decorating the tree.

Decorating the Tree With The Girls

Late afternoon, because Mary was having trouble with a tooth, Tom took her to the dentist and she ended up getting a root canal, not exactly what she wanted on Thanksgiving weekend but all's well that end's well.  She no longer has any pain.  I took Bella out for a walk; we circled the neighborhood, both on trails and on sidewalks, crossed creeks, which I had to carry her over, and we were out for at least 45 minutes.  She returned out of breath and promptly took a nap.  While I was out, Evie and Marlena's best friend, Olivia, decorated more of the cookies Evie brought from Chautauqua, always fun for the girls.  And she taught them both how to play the card game Telefunky, which they both loved, so they had a fun afternoon. Nick mostly slept on the couch, occasionally changing the channel from one game to another.

Ten Foot Ice Sickle's Along Gorge Wall

For dinner, Tommy made a huge pot of turkey soup.  It was delicious, just what the doctor ordered for Nick as well as the rest of the family and with left over turkey, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts, we had a second Thanksgiving dinner, almost as good as the first. We were tired of watching sports so the entire family went down stairs to watch a movie both Evie and I love, ONCE, but the kids were reluctant as was Tom because they all know the kind of movies we like.  Tom wanted to know if it had subtitles.  Well, we insisted and I am still not sure how much they liked it though all stuck with it to the end.  It had no violence or sex, a few 'bad words,' and was 'very slow,' but the love story was moving even if unrequited and the music, the center of the film, written and song by Glen Hansard, was great. Evie and I have seen it at least five times now but I fear this may be the only time for the rest of the Davis family.

After the movie, Nick went to bed, the rest of us had peanut butter cheese cake and watched Kansas lose to Villanova in basketball, interrupted only by Tom and me getting another bowl of turkey soup for a late night snack.  We all went to bed around 11:00.  I am reading a cheesy novel called THE STAR OF ISTANBUL, supposedly a thriller but ridiculous at times.  But I have to stick with it because I realized both the second book I brought along and the Kindle book I downloaded I had already read.  What an idiot.

A Lee's Summit Morning at 7:00

No plans yet for today; we will wait to see how Nick feels.  Flash... I guess Tom and Mary's best friends, the Burlingames are coming over for a vodka and shrimp pasta dinner tonight.  Groovy.

Post Thanksgiving Blues

The Wine Sisters

Most of the Gang

It's 7:15 and I am the only one up, another clear day in KC, a high of 45º later in the day.  I almost forgot it was Friday, thinking instead it was Saturday.  How could I forget Black Friday, the best day of the year.  We joked about going off to Target or Walmart's last night, just to see the crowds but were too tired to leave the house.  I think some had pitched tents in front of Best Buy early Wednesday morning.

Marlena and The Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheese Cake

James At Rest

Yesterday morning was spent like most Thanksgivings, getting the house and food ready for the family's arrival sometime early afternoon.  It did not seem as difficult as last year, perhaps because the more people willing to help, the easier the day becomes.  And everyone pitched in, setting the table, getting the bird and and sides ready, and the relatives always bring something, usually pies, sides, and some vino of course.  We tried something new this year, at least for us, grilling the turkey outside, adding some apple chips to give it a smoky flavor.  It was super simple and easy, brine and prepare the bird, put the wood chips in a smoker box, turn on the grill, put the turkey in an aluminum pan, then let it cook for just about three hours, taking it out when the interior temperature reached 165º.  While it cooked, Tom' in laws came over, as well as Jean, Evie's sister, and her daughter Jennifer and family, so we had a full house, but best of all, we had some little one's around, as our grandchildren have grown up.  We sat around and watched football until dinner time, around 5:30, letting the turkey sit for about an hour before Tommy carved it.  It was your typical Thanksgiving meal, the kind I like, the usual fixings,  turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, along with the sides of brussel sprouts and green bean casserole. And a cranberry relish which everyone liked. Everyone seemed sincere in their raving about the turkey and I have to agree; it was one of the best I have had in recent memory, moist with just a hint of smoke.  Most were too full to have dessert but by 7:00, all were ready for some pumpkin pie or chocolate peanut butter cheese cake.

Mary with Her Mom, Rose

Marlena and Henry

The Brussell Sprout Boys

Jennifer, Robert and the boys left around 7:30, but the others stayed to play some Telefunky with the kids, Nick and Marlena's new favorite games.  While the ladies and kids played, the old boys napped and watched a meaningless football game. Everyone left for home around 9:00, happy and still full we hope.  We decided to watch a movie as a family, Tom picked out Jobs, the story of Steve Jobs, and it was pretty good, with Ashton Kucher as Steve Jobs.  Marlena was the most interested, knew quite a bit about him already, so it was fun to watch it with her.  We stopped it mid way, to make turkey sandwiches with mayo, and finished around 11:00, then all of us went to bed, another great day with our grandchildren in Lee's Summit.

Ready for Turkey

Gigi with Grandson James

I did manage to keep my vows from yesterday, taking Bella for a walk along the creek, avoiding appetizers, enjoying family and the turkey dinner, ending the day with a turkey sandwich on white bread with mayo.  How bout that for self discipline.

Smoked Turkey

A New Mini Ipad, P.F. Changs, And A Mavericks Hockey Game

Making Cheesecake with Mr. Happy

It's 7:00, clear skies but warmer,  around 28º at the moment, a perfect day for Thanksgiving, lots of eating, drinking, watching football, and taking a walk but the best part, being together with family, all the threads of matching DNA that come together on this day:  Moms, Dads, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, the ties that bind,

Yesterday began early for Nick, b-ball practice from 8:00-9:30.  The rest of us arose at our leisure, to another cold morning.  Evie was up first, to get the brine ready for the turkey, let it sit for six hours. When Nick got home, we had a real breakfast, at Tom's request, bacon, with eggs on toast. After breakfast, Tom and Mary went to work out, so Evie and Marlena started to put together the chocolate peanut butter cheese cake, quite a effort.  When Tom and Mary returned, they both helped put the finishing touches on the cheesecake before putting it in the freezer until Thanksgiving.  Yum.

Then the fun began.  Tom was checking to see if the new Ipad was available at any of the local Apple stores and amazingly, he found one at the Kansas City Plaza Apple store. He could order it on-line, pick it up later in the day but it meant Evie had to make decisions: buy it now or later, gray or silver, 16 or 32 gigabytes, cover or no cover, cellular or not, if so, Verizon or AT&T, twenty dollar plan or thirty dollar plan.  Decisions!  Finally, after much anguish and soul searching, Evie bit the bullet, told Tom to buy, and with one click of the computer, my credit card bill was appreciably larger.

Nick and Good Friend, Hannah, at Apple Store

The rest of the late morning and early afternoon was, for Evie,  like a kid waiting for Christmas to come, until we all piled in the car, picked up Nick's friend Hannah, and sped down to the Plaza, parking across the street from the Apple store, a half hour ride.  Evie immediately walked in the store,  found a Apple associate and within minutes, she had a gleaming new Mini Ipad in her hands.  Beautiful packaging of course as well as Ipad.  For the next half hour, the associate patiently helped her to set up her Ipad, answer any questions, and transfer all her aps and pictures from her Ipad II.  While this was being done, Tom had an appointment with the Genius Bar, as he was having trouble with his Iphone email, something that they eventually could not solve and sent him to a Apple phone number, to see if an expert could help.  They couldn't  either, alas, so he may have to erase the storage memory and start again, something like that.

Dinner at P. F. Changs

We then did some shopping and walking around, just enjoying being outside in the amazing Plaza, with its Spanish architecture.  Nick picked up some jeans at Lucky's, Tom some shoes at Cole Hahn before we all became hungry and went to P. F. Chang's for an early dinner.  We started with the delicious lettuce rolls, then ordered various entrees for dinner, all great.  We left around 5:30, full and happy and drove off to the Independence Events Center, for a hockey game with the minor league Mavericks.  But the real reason for our attending was that Marlena's fifth and sixth grade choir sang the National Anthem, before the game, huddled in a corner of the ice rink.  It was cool and they were great.

Marlena, Far Left, Singing the National Anthem

Marlena and Girl Friends, at Hockey Arena

We then sat through two quarters of hockey, mildly interested,  as the game, at various times, was stopped so that fans could play silly games on the ice or screen and win prizes.  I guess hockey or basketball, or whatever is not enough any more to keep fans' interest.  And we did not realize there were eighteen minute breaks between the periods, so we left after the second period, skipping the third and final one.  No one was unhappy to leave.  We got home around 10:00, after stopping at HyVee for some last minute items for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Evie made Nick a croque monsieur (grilled cheese), the rest of us had tostitos and hummus, with beers and we then watched the Cavs lose to the Heat, on DVR, before going to bed around 11:00.  A good day, a really good day for Evie.

Today, I have a few goals , all achievable: take a hike with Marlena and Evie, lay off the appetizers, limit TV, enjoy the family and Thanksgiving dinner, and end the day with a turkey sandwich, on white bread with mayo.

A Rib Roast At Aunt Jean's Yesterday, A Cold But Sunny Day Today

Marlena in the Morning, Before School

At School, with Ms. Danner

Up at 6:30, to a clear sky, quiet house and cold, 16º at at the moment, though it will get up to 28º later in the day, a chilly introduction to Thanksgiving vacation for Nick and Marlena who are off from school for a few days.  Tom also has taken the day off, so the whole family except for Nick who has basketball practice this morning is sleeping in.  Evie's up, however, getting the brine ready for the turkey.

We started yesterday with a visit to Marlena's school at 8:00, as they had Grandparent's Day before school began, a good idea.  They had a pancake breakfast for grandparents, which we skipped as well, a nice touch.  We spent a few minutes talking with Marlena's teacher, who raved about our granddaughter especially her writing ability, then Marlena took us on a tour of the classroom, showing us all her folders, books, desk, and she explained the kinds of things they do during the day.  We were both impressed with Marlena's explanations, the teacher's organization of class, the various subjects, with an emphasis on thinking, asking questions, understanding, not recitation.  We were only there for about twenty minutes, just right.

Having a Latte After A Walk

When we returned home, Mary was off at the gym and was meeting Tom at his office, so we had the morning free.  We decided to get a good walk in despite the chilly morning and walked through their neighborhood, partly on a trail through the woods, down to the main road, and from there, to the new mini mall, just at the entrance to Longwood College.  It has a few stores, a CVS, and a coffee shop called Gusto.  We picked up a few things at CVS, then went to Gusto for a couple of latte's straight, no fancy sweeteners.  We struck up a conversation with an interesting women.  She bakes various kinds of gluten free products and was at Gusto to deliver an order.  She was one of those outgoing people, wanted to know all about us, thought we were full of 'energy and health', which made her so happy that she gave us some of her bourbon hemp brownies, with her card of course.  A nice lady. Our grandchildren wanted to know later in the day why we end up meeting all these interesting people at coffee shops and bars.  I suggested that Evie just smiled and said hello and that was enough.  We walked home, braving the increasingly heavy wind.  The walk took us two hours including the shopping and coffee, a total of four miles, a good way to start the day.

Enjoying A Family Dinner of Prime Rib

Our Favorite Niece Jennifer, with Husband Robert and Son James

Evie and her Sister Jean, Prepping Dinner

We relaxed a good part of the afternoon, reading and watching some TV till 4:30 when both Nick and Marlena got home.  We then drove to Evie's sister Jean's house, on Lake Tapawingo, in Independence  MO, for dinner, along with her daughter Jennifer's family.  Jean has a lovely home on this small lake, a perfect house for her, with floor length windows on the lake side, with an extraordinary view mornings and evenings, as the sun rises and sets.  We relaxed for an hour before dinner, with a glass of Jean's favorite wine until Tom came from work.  Then everyone helped out, as the prime rib dinner was put together, Robert carving the roast, Evie making the salad, Jennifer the green beans, Jean orchestrating it all.  The dinner was great, a family favorite of course, as we devoured the prime rib as well as a couple of ribs, salad, sweet potatoes, and beans.  The boys were great through out the night, happy to have company and everyone loves to lay on the floor with Henry, make him laugh, or chase after James.  For dessert we had a gluten free apple crisp with ice cream (not Blue Bell, an inside joke), which was an apt ending for a great meal.  After dinner, Evie, Jean and Nick and Marlena played Bananagrams while the rest of us, the young adults and me, sat around reminiscing about the old days in Lee Summit, when Tom first arrived in the fall of 1992, and Robert and Jennifer were still in grade  school.  They have a long history.

This morning, Evie and Marlena and Mary are making a special cheese cake, a Peanut Butter Chocolate cheese cake, to go along with our turkey dinner.  Then, later in the afternoon, we go to the Apple store mid afternoon, then to Bonefish for dinner, then to the Maverick's hockey game,  to see Marlena's choir sing the National Anthem.  It sounds like a good day ahead.

MASARYK STATION: DAVID DOWNING

It's 1948 and John Russell is in Trieste, Italy, at the behest of the Americans, acting as an interpreter of a Russian colonel.  Things are heating up in Yugoslavia, as Tito and Stalin seem to be at loggerheads, ready for conflict.  And the Russians are beginning to put a blockade on Berlin, making it difficult for the Allies to get food, gas, and electricity.  Eventually it leads to the creation of both East and West Germany, a divided Berlin until the fall of the wall in 1989 and with that, the triumph of capitalism over a tyrannical Soviet communism, leaving in its wake, millions of dead innocents on both sides.  Ah Politics.

This particular novel starts with violence, the murder of a young woman, the rape of her sister by an unknown power figure.  We do not seem the reason for this opening until half way through the novel when Russell is made aware of a tape of this atrocious act by Beria, the Russian head of the KGB. The knowledge of this tape, and a way of getting it in his hands, leads both Russell and his Russian counter part in all six novels, Shchepkin, not disillusioned with Russian communists, to figure a way out of being beholden to both Russia and the US.  They will threaten Beria with the making public of the tape unless he promises to let both escape to the West, without revealing their parts in intrigue, for Russell it means not telling the Americans that he gave up nuclear secrets to save the life of his wife. If the Americans knew about this, he could be tried for treason.  The rest of the novel details their plan, how its carried out, the problems they face as the Russian Military Intelligence finds out about the tape and tries to secure the tape from Russell, to undermine Beria, whom they hate.  Russell is forced to kill two Russian agents, burns the tape as directed by Shchepkin, and the novel ends with him in his apartment in Berlin, ready to flee to the West with his wife, Effi,  after Shchepkin, the Russian spy leader, turns himself in to the American forces.

The joy of this novel is the moral ambiguity of it, the fact that though the Russians seem worst, the Allies, too, are no angels, doing what is necessary, sacrificing lives all for the greater cause.  As Camus states, "There are no ends just means, " thus Marx's dictum that the 'end justifies the means' makes no sense.   Downing clearly sympathizes with the aims or goals of socialism, its goal of equality and justice for all, though he knows that both Russia and East Germany never achieved the goal.  And he sees the West as obsessed with materialism, with making money, creating just as unequal a world as did Russia.  The novel makes you hate politics, admire people who believe in fraternity, equality and justice, sacrificing their lives in its name which is then corrupted by those in Powers  and their politics.  Sound familiar. This is the last of the Berlin novels.

A Slovenian Dinner With Henry and James

Jennifer, James, Robert and Henry Kent

The Davis Family, Enjoying The Evening

We all are up earlier than usual, around 6:30, Mary taking Nick to school for a meeting at 6:45, Evie up as well to have her coffee and, a rare occurrence, we are watching Morning Joe on the Tube as we search the Net for something worth reading other than email and Facebook.  Today in Kansas City, it's still colder than Chautauqua, 26º at at the moment, down to 17º tonight but clear skies, no snow. Chautauqua may get six to ten inches of snow they predict.  It feels good to be ensconced in KC with Tom, Mary, and the family, and not have to drive anywhere.  At 8:00, we are off to Grandparents morning at Marlena's school.  This is the third time we have been able to participate which is great.

Yesterday was an open day, as the kids would be at school until 4:30, Tom at work, so I looked around for a yoga studio, found one, The Zen Zone, about three miles away so at 10:15, I drove off to a Yin Yoga class.  It was in a strip mall, but the studio itself was fine, large, wood floors, lots of accoutrement's to give it an Eastern feel.  Class was fine, different but the same, which is why I like to go to different teachers.  I have had lots of Yin classes but this one emphasized different poses, different connective tissues, the point of emphasis in Yin yoga.  And, as usual, I was the only guy in a class of twelve women, of various ages and shapes.  I am now comfortable enough to go to almost any yoga class so it was fun and made me feel good, since I have not done much exercising in the last few days unless you count sitting down at the table and chowing down on good food.

Marlena and Henry Surfing the Net

Mary worked out early, did some shopping and Evie and I also went out around 12:30 to the local mall, to see if we could find a new cellular Mini Ipad but no luck, Best Buy and AT&T don't have them and don't know when they will get them.  We will just have to keep checking to see if any store gets some in stock.  Apple is having a 'black Friday sale' on line or at the store but I doubt if this Ipad will be one sale.  We also hit TJ Maxx but did not stay long; neither one of us felt much like shopping though I did pick up a 10 inch fry pan, heavy with a nice feel and handle, to take the place of the one our buddy Mac gave us at least ten years ago.  It's strange how you become partial to a certain pot or pan and use if over and over again even if you have newer ones.

James Loves Bella

Niece Jennifer Kent

Evie's sister Jeannie came over around 3:30 for the afternoon, followed at 4:15 by her daughter Jennifer, husband Robert, and two boys, Henry and James.  We were having, as I mentioned yesterday a Slovenia dinner of Slovenian sausages from Azman's in Euclid, Ohio, and a peasant soup, beans, and potatoes.  Jennifer's boys are amazing, great fun to be around, Henry is now four and a half, a joy and spends most of the day smiling, just enjoying himself.  What a great kid, everyone loves him. And James is a typical two year old, into everything, curious and fun, ready for bear every moment of the day.  We all enjoyed the dinner ,even Nick went back for seconds, and Jean and family took some of the sausages home for lunch today.  We went through 18 total, counting today's lunches.  Everyone went home around 7:30 as the boys were getting tired.  It was a fun evening.  The rest of the night we sat around talking about cellular plans for the IPAD, trying to find a deal, and deciding what we were going to do on Tom's days off, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, where to eat, P.F. Changs or Bone fish.  Wednesday evening we all go to the local minor league hockey game as Marlena's school choir is singing the National Anthem.  That should be fun.  We all went upstairs around 10:30, tired and full from another day in KC.

A Leisurely Sunday, A Shopping Monday

Marlena with Her Dad 

Up at 6:00, to another cold day.  Nick is up as well, showered and ready to go  to school by 6:30.  The high school here starts very early, so Nick leaves before 7:00, in Bermuda shorts and Nike slides, with socks at least.  He says he's out in the cold air for about 10 seconds so why not wear this...smart boy.

Sunday was just another day to hang out, watch football, play with the kids and of course, eat.  It all began with some religion, at the Church of Costco, worshipping at the foot of Mammon, doing our best to help Obama keep that economy cooking.  Between Tom and me, we did or best.  Evie, of course, just walked down aisle after aisle and liked 'this' and 'that' but as usual, bought nothing.  In fact, no LED TV this time, no camera, no pot or bowl...just lots of fixings for the Big Bird Day, the turkey, veggies, stuffing, wine, dessert...we are set for the next three or four days, easy.

Marlena Chillin With Her Friend Brooklyn

We got home around 1:00, had some breakfast and settled in on the couches, to waste the rest of the day watching first, the Chiefs lose in the final minutes to San Diego, a very disappointing outcome for my son Tom, an avid Chiefs fan.  Evie and Marlena decorated some cookies, along with Marlena's friend Brooklyn.  Nick had a buddy from school over, so they spent the afternoon in the basement playing on X Box.  Late afternoon, I took Bella out for a walk but it was cold even for me, so we did not last long.

The Fashion Plate

For dinner, Evie made her famous Greek Lemon Chicken, Tom's favorite, a dish we make every time we visit.  And we have to have garlic spinach and rice as well to make it a perfect meal.  Evie at the last minute added a couple more chicken thighs, just in case, and we needed it as we devoured them, having only one left.  A great meal, everything gone, even the spinach, alas, no lunch for me.  For dessert, we had the sinful Costco cheese cake, with strawberries, and Tom, Nick, and I watched our third football game of the day, a boring first half of the Broncos/Patriots game. Unfortunately, I went to bed after the first half, only to find out this morning that the Patriots had a miracle comeback, winning in over time.  Rats.  I guess Tom stayed up till the over time but also went to bed.

Today, we have no firm plans, most likely we will go shopping some where, check out the new Ipads, so Evie can decide which one she wants, the new Air Ipad, or the Mini.  Tommy wants her to get the 32 gigabyte Ipad, with lots of memory, so it looks like that's the one she'll get.

Tonight we are having Evie's sister Jean and her daughter Jennifer and family over for a good old fashioned Slovenia dinner of beans and potato soup, Slovenia sausages, and sauerkraut, Yugoslavian comfort food.  Every Petkovsek family picnic featured tons of these sausages from Asman's, in Cleveland, Ohio. And we can still get them, made with the family's 70 year old recipe. We brought eighteen sausages with us from the lake.  Yum.

A Frigid (13º) But Sunny Morning in Kansas City

Evie with Her Sister, Jean, Daughter  in Law, Mary, and Niece, Jennifer

It's after 8:00 and it's just me and Bella, the family dog, enjoying the quiet of morning, as everyone, even Evie sleeps in, the good life on a Sunday morning.  We don't have snow in the forecast like Chautauqua, just cold, clear days through to Thanksgiving.  As I finish this, it's now 9:00, and only Marlena is up with me to enjoy the morning.  Everyone else is all tuckered out, no doubt.

We arrived in Lee's Summit early afternoon, a suburb twenty miles south and east of Kansas City, on what was once farm lands twenty five years ago.  Now it's a booming community for young families. Bella ran out to give us a bark and greetings, and the entire family was home, a rare occurrence for a family on a Saturday, no games, no practices, no parties.  Everyone looks great, the kids taller always, Tom and Mary the same.  Our day was planned, so we unpacked and lingered for an hour before driving over to Evie's sister Jean's house, to see her and her daughter Jennifer and family before leaving for the Rainbow Center Charity Event.  Jennifer lives a few miles west of Fort Worth, on a newly acquired four acre ranch.  We have not seen her family since last November in Scottsdale, at my father in law's funeral.  She and her husband have two adorable kids, Henry, the delight of their life, and James, the two year old, curious and in to everything, a great family.  As usual, Jean was a great host, and we got caught up on events, played with the kids, drank some wine and ate some appetizers until it was time to go the the auction and dinner event at the nearby Holiday Inn conference center.

Granny, with Marlena and Nick

Mary and Tom

Nick and Mom

It benefits a great cause, the Rainbow Center, which serves the needs of both adults and children with communicative disorders. Jean in particular has supported this event over the years with both time and donations. Over 400 people ate, drank, bid on various items, donated money, and played games of Trivia Pursuit during the evening, hosted by the local TV news weatherman.  Various businesses donated food for the buffets, as well as gifts to bid on, supporting the charity.  The event was well organized and run though a bit long most would agree, but we all had a fun time and the cause was worth the time, effort and money.  Thousands of special needs people will have richer lives because of it.

Jean, With Her Good Friend,  Gail

We got home around 10:00, both Evie and I really tired from the drive and the dinner, but we stayed up till 11:00 before going to bed.  A good day, the first of many as we celebrate another Thanksgiving Holiday in Kansas City with Tom and family.

A New Best Friiend In Effingham, IL

Our View Most Of The Trip

Getting Closer

Arrived

Finally, Dinner and a Beer

Up early, because we are an hour ahead here in Effingham; it's 7:00 in Chautauqua but only 6:00 here at the Hampton Inn.  I actually woke at 4:30 but was able to get back to sleep.  At the moment I am sitting in the breakfast room at the Hampton Inn, having my coffee, some breakfast.

Yesterday was a gray, wet and rainy day most of the way, not much to see through the wind shield wipers.  But traffic was not bad, only two short traffic stops, one for construction, another for a truck that had just gone off the road and turned over.  We arrived at our destination, the Effingham Hampton Inn around 4:00,  just what we expected.

With Steve, Our New Best Friend

Our Favorites Bar Tenders In Effingham, Brittany and Jake

Around 5:45, we went next door to the Lone Star Steak House, sat at our favorite bar in Effingham and ran in to just the kind of guy we were looking for, Steve from Illinois.  A big  guy as you can see, with a shaved head, he's a dyed in the wool Illinois fan, having worked for the athletic department for twenty years, not as a coach but with equipment.  Now he manages the local B W 3's, but seems to have his dinner most nights here at the Lone Star.  He's a large guy, well over 250 pounds I would guess and has loss forty pounds recently, on his singular diet of Lone Star rolls, potato skins, smothered in A-1 sauce. And he washed his meal down with at least six or seven 22 ounce beers (which he sprinkled with the Lime Salt he brings with him in small bottles). To counter act the salt, he takes potassium tablets each morning from the Illinois Athletic Department.  He was a talker, telling us his life story, wives, divorces, kids and girl friends interspersed with his athletic exploits.  He had at least four phone calls in the hour we sat with him and was constantly texting.  I assume he was in his late 40's, seemed to know everyone who worked at the bar, had even just hired away one of the waitresses but it was no problem. A few thing about him.  He's a great baseball player, having played on traveling All Star teams all over the world, New Zealand, South Africa, you name it.  He said basketball was his favorite sport after I was able to mention I had played basketball.  His high school team was the first to go to State.  At 240, he could stand under the basket and dunk, had a 30 inch vertical jump.  And he played football, of course, but was fuzzy on that.  In between his two marriages, he had a mixed race child, a girl, who was sexually abused in 2nd grade and now gets $8000.00 a month in reparations.  His son is about to marry a Swedish millionaire's daughter, has a patent on a new type of duct vent, which will make him a millionaire many times over.  His brother owns 9 BW's, three homes on Florida beaches, as does his Aunt, also a millionaire.  He wants us to call the next time we are in town; took our number and name so we could keep in touch.  Around 7;30, he was off, for home, to his new girl friend, to sleep,  O, yea, I forgot, just before his new girl friend broke up with him briefly, he gave her $50,000 for a down payment on a house.  He didn't ask for it back; did not think it would be right but after her grandfather passed away, they have gotten back together.  Today, he's taking a  couple of his waitresses to Terre Haute for oysters since they have never had them before. Whew.

We got back to the Inn around 8::00, having had too many beers, at least I did.  We did have good meals, mine a Bubba burger, with bacon and barbecue sauce, Evie had a chicken breast with a great cheesy sauce over it.  Both were great.  We came back, watched Bill Maher's Real Time on TV before falling asleep.

It's very cold this morning, wind chill in the teens, and will be cold in Kansas City as well.  Fortunately, there's no snow, so we have about a six hour drive, should be at Tom's around 2:30 or 3:00.  Tonight, we go off to a fundraiser with Evie's sister Jean, a charity she loves to support.  It has a Trivial Pursuit Theme, which will be fun since Tom and his family are coming along as well.  Time to hit the road.

Effingham, Illinois, Ho!

Heading to KC to Visit Tom and Family

Moon Lit Lake

Up early because of our trip and neither one of us slept that well, typical the night before a journey of any sort.  We have about a nine hour ride ahead of us, not too bad and we usually get into Effingham around 4:00 because we gain an hour going West.  A year ago today, we were in Kansas City, celebrating Thanksgiving, with a turkey dinner with all the fixings, a fun day with Tom's family and his in laws, Rose and Frank.  Fifty years ago today, I was in a Teaching of English Class in Athens, Ohio, when our teacher announced that JFK had been assassinated and continued teaching, as an example of how a teacher might handle a situation like this.

Yesterday was a wet, gray and dreary day, perfect for packing and getting ready to head to Kansas City.  I got out my trusty IKEA blue plastic bag and within minutes, I had all my clothes packed, the bag down stairs ready to be put in the car.  I love these bags, perhaps not cool or appropriate for a plane trip but great for a car trip when visiting the kids.  Evie has one as well so we have matching travel bags albeit not leather.

I did have a few errands to run, stop at the post office, bank, library, so I was gone for about an hour or so.  Not much else to do the rest of the day, continue with my reading, too lazy to take a walk, plus it was rainy outside, a good excuse to make some Turkish tea and just stay inside and enjoy my leisure. Evie had more to do, obviously, getting the kitchen and cookie utensils ready for the trip, the food for our drive, presents to wrap for the kids but that's all done. We were packed and ready to go by dinner time.

So, around 5:00, we were able to sit down and relax with a glass of wine, listen to NPR, with the car already packed for our trip.  For dinner, we had simple pleasures, Sahlen hot dogs with Stadium Mustard, beans and a salad.  What could be better.  I felt like I was at an Indians or Brown game at the old Municipal Stadium.

Time to hit the road.

A Majestic Sunrise

7:13

Up at 6:30 to a slash of red sky, a lake of surface like cellulite, 32º at the moment, but colder and nastier over the weekend, just as we head West, good timing I suppose.

Yesterday was my last yoga class in Westfield.  I enjoyed the once a week classes but never looked forward to them like I do when I go to Eight Limbs in Lakewood.  Not sure why, perhaps the time, a three hour commitment, perhaps the class, where I rarely do a pose right but am learning how to do it right but slowly. It was fun to make the acquaintance of new people, most of them from the Westfield area, most know one another.  I assume I will take up classes in Lakewood, either in December when I return or wait for the new year.  It depends on the weather, how inviting the weather might be for hiking.

While I was at yoga, Evie made mega batches of cookies, some for our granddaughter Marlena to decorate when we get to Kansas City, chocolate chips for the entire family to enjoy as well.  The rest of the day was a blur, nothing special for either one of us, wrapping some presents for Evie, getting some packages ready to mail today, and I cleaned up the Pilot, getting it ready for our trip tomorrow morning.
We both regret that we have not been more active this week but it always seems that when we get ready for a trip, our hiking and walks suffer.

Evie put together a mushroom and sausage pasta sauce for dinner, with a salad, and we watched Stewart and Colbert and the first episode of a British series we had heard was pretty good called George Gently.  We were not impressed but one episode does not make an accurate criticism.  Just before we went to bed, we noticed the entire lake was lit by the full moon, shining and shimmering on the lake surface.

Breakfast with the guys in twenty minutes.  We both have to pack today but things are under control and we cannot wait to get to see Tom, Mary and grandchildren.

LEHRTER STATION: DAVID DOWNING

World War II has ended six months ago in this, Downing's fifth Berlin series,  and John Russell and Effi find themselves back Berlin, or what remains of it after the Allied bombings, the destruction by the Russians.  The city is divided into four sections, American, British, French, and Russian but their are only two players, the Russians and the Americans.  And we think we are civilized!

Like the other novels, Russell is caught between pleasing both the Russians and Americans.  The Russians come off as brutal and practical, the Americans as naive, ignorant, and arrogant, as if they had won the war single handedly, never really understanding the Russians' who have suffered unimaginable losses, of up to forty to sixty million during the war.

Both John and Effi return to Berlin, Effi to continue making motion pictures, John because of the pressures from the Russians and United States.  He also continues his interest in the displaced Jews, in their attempts to assimilate back in to society, most that would prefer to see them disappear.  As a result, most Jews hope to emigrate to Palestine or the US. There are covert groups that set up secret paths from Europe to Palestine though neither the Russians or Americans nor British are comfortable with it, as they are worried about its effects on the Arabs in the Middle East.

John gets mixed up with a group of former Nazis who run the local cabaret called The Honey Pot. With the acquiescence of the American government, the nouveau riche Nazis smuggle goods in and out of Berlin and run a black market in drugs, alcohol, and women.  John is warned off  pursuing this story by his American spy masters and only does so after having his life threatened by the Nazis, as well as well as the Americans.  He solves the problem by turning his info on the Nazis over to a Jewish terrorist group called the Ghosts of Treblinka.  Within a week, the Nazis are found murdered and John can live with himself.

He also seems to have compromised his position with his Russian spy master.  He is asked to take some compromising documents to a drop and realizes he is be followed by the master, and most likely will be caught with compromising information and killed.  He hides in an alley and for the second time, he kills a man, this time to save his life.  He's not happy about it but finds that he's not as troubled by it as he thought.  After all, he's still alive, with Effi, has a son doing well in England, and no one has connected him with the murders of the Nazis or of his Russian spymaster.

We get a vivid picture of life in Berlin, with shortages of food, water, medicine, almost everything as more and more homeless Germans pour into the city and surrounding areas.  Most have been displaced by the Poles and Russians, sent back to Germany.  Scholars estimate the total number of displaced Germans at six or seven million, with hundreds of thousands having died during the displacement.

One of the most troubling aspects of the novel is the often barbaric treatment of the citizens, especially women, of occupied Germany by the Russian and Allied forces. It made me want to do some research about post WWII Europe.  For example, rape was rampant in last few weeks of the war and its aftermath.  Sources indicate over 30% of Berlin's women were raped, between 95,000 and 130,000, mostly be the Russians but also by the British, French and Americans.  Overall, according to one source 1.9 million rapes resulted from the Russian take over of Germany.  This is not an isolated problem but one present with us today. The US Department of Defense estimates there are 19,000 sexual assaults in the military per year.