Travels...

It was pure delight to see the joy in the faces of young daughters at their graduations this past week. Vickie kicked off the week with her commencement at Valparaiso U, and Lizzy smiled broadly through her “walk” to her Masters’ degree at UMaryland. Of course, this dad thought of the little girls, sitting and reading….or sitting and listening. I kept wanting to say, “Do you like my hat?” during the few silent periods at Lizzy’s ceremony. With all those English majors, I thought it would have fit just perfectly. Particularly since there were many different ways to wear the same “hat” amongst the regalia.

I’ll save a longer recap of the trip for my return from Central Oregon. For now, it is off to see some of the Fubarian Brothers, and try to find some sunshine. At least the rain is a little warmer this time of year, but coming home from places that were actually HOT at times leaves me feeling like we’re stuck in some odd corner of the country. Which, I guess we are.

Short musings, before I head over the Cascades:

West Virginia is hillier than I thought it would be.

Humidity can make up for cloudy days.

Jimmy Buffett really DOES seem to like Cincinnati.

Everyone called me “sweetie” in Kentucky, maybe I don’t look as good to them as everyone else says I look. I just looked grey, old and in need of their last handicapped room.

Some old buildings need not be renovated, they should have been maintained. Now, they are just old and falling down. Just because it was standing during the Civil War, the owners since then should still have put on a new roof every twenty years or so. Reaching back that far for maintenance is a little difficult.

The view of the sunset from the Hancock Tower is still lovely, even if the tour of the Chicago River seems to have slipped.........

For now, I'm off to a Dog Party....with hats that will make other people laugh. Like them or not...the key is reading to the little ones, until they can recite back before we even turn the page.