2014

Cathing Up - Procrastinating again; so here are some recollections of highlights for the latter part of the year. As we wound into summer Patrick and Nathan did their usual three-week trip to Camp Highlands. It was Patrick's last year as a camper. In 2015 he'll be a counselor in training. Chris, of course, couldn't do camp since he now has a full-time job.

Castle Park

Martha went for the July 4th break while the boys were at camp.   I stayed home with Christopher - though he was working most of the time.   After they came home from Camp Highlands we left for CP on Friday, July 18.   Our plan is to stay here for two weeks and on Friday, August 1st go over the Chicago and stay at Betsy's condo and she'll come over here. 

The drive out was uneventful.  We left by about 6:30 and made our usual stop at the Bob Evans at New Stanton.  We'd expected to let Patrick drive, but the traffic was so heavy that we thought it best to just split it between Martha and me.    It took us a total of 12 hours; arriving around 6:45.   We immediately unpacked and changed for a 'burger broil' down at the Castle.

Saturday is mostly a blur; but it was set up getting organized, going to Family Fare for groceries.   Martha and I went to downtown Holland to get me a hat.  

We made a stop down at the beach and I asked Ernie Kelly if we could store Nathan's electronic drums at his garage though I'm not sure we'll do it.   Patrick and Nathan have been palling around a bit with a couple girls; Nate especially, which causes us a little concern.   Patrick, for all his potential, doesn't seem to care that much.

Sunday I started my usual jog down to Macatawa and back, with a jump in the pool.   This is one of my favorite rituals.   Not that I'm thrilled about the run, but it feels so good when I stop and jump in the pool.   A relaxing day afterwards, reading a book (Grisham's Sycamore Row), taking a nap, going to the beach and fixing spaghetti for dinner.

Monday morning I got Patrick and Nathan up and we went golfing at the Links at Rolling Meadows; a cute little par three course in a senior community.  We lost a lot of balls and duffed around.   Nathan has been playing with the GoPro camera and got quite a few videos of us struggling.

He's also been getting some good beach and pool shots.   Afterwards, we went to Culvers for lunch and then stopped by Family Fare for some extra foodstuffs.   Did the pool that afternoon with the boys.   That evening Cathy was out so Martha and I took the opportunity to go to a little off-beat restaurant in Douglas and then strolled around Saugatuk eating ice cream and window shopping.

Tuesday I hauled an old bike out of the shed and fixed it up as best I could.  Then Martha and I rode down South Shore.   We diverged so she could visit the cemetery, and I headed back to CP.    The bike really turned out to be a piece of garbage - broken gears and warped back wheel.   Next year I'll get a new one to keep up here.

When I got back I jumped in the pool.   A loungy afternoon reading my book.  Marth and I went to the beach and swam in warmer lake water and hung out until we noticed a storm coming in.   It was a warm evening so the five of us set up a dinner of leftovers on the front porch.   The discussion inevitably centered on changes and the history of CP.   It is nothing like it used to be - even since I began coming up here.    The sky darkened and we walked down to the beach and watched a spectacular lightning storm approach over the lake.   That night we went to sleep listening to a soothing heavy rain. 

Wednesday dawned considerably cooler following the storm.  I did my jog (lightly with sore legs) and jumped in the pool.    I had to do some call with a financial sales person, but spent most of the day playing on the laptop.  In the evening, we went into Holland for a play - Hot Mikado - at Hope College.   We really wanted to bring Patrick to something , and get Cathy out.  It was quite good, although there were quite a few old people there (!?!)

Thursday was bland - the only highlight being a grocery trip with Martha to Family Fare.   I messed with Nathan's drum kit in the afternoon and went on a walk to the Big Red Lighthouse with Martha and Nate.  Cooked a pot roast in the crock pot for a relaxing dinner.

Friday - Got up early with Martha to take the van in to be looked at.  The engine light had come on and I could feel it 'missing.'  The weather had turned cooler and overcast, so it was by default a lazy, uneventful day.  I messed with the drum kit.  The boys cleaned the railing on the top of the front porch and I played with some financial stuff.  Eventually, after picking up the van, Martha and I went down to the beach (dreary and drizzly) and a dip in the pool just to perk up a bit.   

Saturday - Martha and Cathy had bought a table and chairs for the cottage dining room, so the boys and I took the old table and chairs down and then hauled the new set up.   Afterwards  I moved the drum kit down to Ernie Kelly's garage and played for a while - all through two great thunderstorms I watched out the garage door as I played.  Very calming. By the time I'd finished, it was time to bike back to the cottage where we'd had a chicken in the crockpot.   I think it was this evening(?) was attended a party for all the kids that were turning 21, which was quite an extravagant affairs with outdoor tents and lots of alcohol  - which is one of the signature issues of CP, and a frustration of ours as far as the kids are concerned.

Sunday - Since the weather wasn't very good, it was another lazy uneventful day.

Monday - Really chilly, so I didn't go for a jog.  Martha and I went to Lowes for some painting supplies, then to Kohl's for some clothes.   Then headed downtown to have a lunch at The Butcher's Block and to Family Fare for some supplies.  I ran over to Ernie's to do a little drumming.   Later that evening all four of us went back into Holland to pick up Jamie who was coming in from Chicago on Amtrak.  

Tuesday - Went for a jog; my typical route - out of the park and down to Macatawa where I take a break looking at the boats, then back to the park with a rest/walk along the way. Usually I'd cap it off with a jump in the pool, but it was just too chilly.    I supervised the boys in sanding and spot-painting the powder room.

Wednesday the boys and I went golfing at Clearbrook golf course.   It was a beautiful day and we hacked around nine holes with some success and frustrations.  Afterward we had a nice lunch at a sports bar down the road.   It was wonderful to spend time with the three of them.

After lunch we went to Kohls and I dropped a nice penny on letting them get a bunch of clothes.  I wanted to make sure Jamie, in particular, could get some new things since he lives on a limited budget.  That was followed by the obligatory stop at Family Fare to get some treats and then back to the cottage.

Thursday I did my jog routine down to Macatawa and jumped in the pool and lounged around.  That evening Jamie, Martha and I went to a party at the Fuller's, a beautiful cottage that had distinction but kept most of the traditional charm. 

Friday we were leaving, so much of the morning was in preparation.   I went over the Ernie's garage and practiced a bit more before packing up the kit and bringing it back.  Put away the bikes, packed up the golf clubs and squeezed in one more dip in the pool before getting on the road by about 1:00.   We battled traffic into Chicago and got to Grandma Cathy's condo around 5:00 after stopping at a friend of Martha's who lent us an air mattress to a grocery stop.   We'd originally planned on staying at Betsy's in Evanston, but at the last minute we found out the Carolyn was staying home instead of coming up to CP with her mom; which meant there weren't enough beds for us there.  So Cathy kindly offered her place.  Why Carolyn couldn't have stayed with her sister or somewhere else we couldn't understand, but it again confounded our plans and would complicate the weekend.

I needed to get up to Bob Allen's for a 'picnic practice' on Saturday.  In order for Martha to have a vehicle, I needed to have Jamie (most logically) drive me up there that morning.   He wanted to go downtown Friday night, which logistically made no sense and bristled at this requirement.   He eventually came to terms with it.

We drove up to Dan's on Saturday morning, went out for breakfast in Palatine.  The discussion over breakfast was classic - the evolution of pot trends, music and sex.  Class DVS topics.   We drove over to Bob's and set up the drums.  Jamies got to say hello to Bob & Matt and then headed back to Hinsdale.    The picnic practice was o.k., though it revealed some weaknesses I knew I'd have to work on.   After some anxiety about it, I managed to snag a ride from Mark Baker to my sister's house in Grayslake where she was having a family reunion.  Martha and the three boys were already there and nicely mingling with cousins, Mary & Tony and Tom & Geri.    Jack, Diana and their kids couldn't - or wouldn't - come.  Either one couldn't be determined and raised some eyebrows.

After another night in Cathy's condo, I got Jamie up early and took him to O'Hare for his flight back to Oakland.    I think he really enjoys family and was sad to leave us.   And of course we miss him as well.    We had some good moments, though, and can see that he's slowly progressing to a maturity that will make him more independent.  

Since we were in the area Martha wanted to revisit her history with Patrick & Nathan, and we went to her old neighborhood, her high school, around Western Springs and LaGrange. We spent a nice bit at the church where we got married. Patrick was pouting most of the time.   He'd wanted to go to LalaPallosa and we said no and now he was just being a teenager; not wanting to be with us.

So I dropped Martha & Nate off at the condo and Patrick and I went north where I dropped him off at a skate park and I went to Bobby's again to watch some more of the practicing.   Marth and Nate had been to the pool.

Monday morning, the 4th, we packed everything up and drove over to Tom & Joan Smith's in Indiana.   Terry and Amina were there visiting from Jakarta and we had a wonderful visit with them, sitting on the back porch chatting, the kids playing pool in the basement, etc.   

Tuesday we made the long haul back home; Patrick taking the first three hour leg, then Martha and me - making it in about 10 hours.  

Now back to the grind.  

On our way back I'd gotten a flurry of messages about the abrupt resignation of my boss, CEO John Lehr.   Not surprisingly, this threw the entire organization into a frenzy.  When I got back on Wednesday the 6th we met as a group and individually with Jim Baker, a allergist/researcher who will be serving as interim CEO until the Board finds a permanent replacement.   

I had a private meeting with John where he apologized for not being able to reach me early enough.  He let me know he was a candidate for the LLS job, but didn't make the cut.  He said he was looking to start his own foundation for underprivileged kids.  The party line was that he'd had a life revelation after his father passed a few months ago.  The grapevine was that he'd also inherited a bit of money.  So I suspect the combination of money and frustration with the Board finally did it.

Funny, that at the same time I'd seen that Larry Hausner had left Diabetes.  It was probably not voluntary in his case, but wanted to reconnect with him.  There's apparently a lot of movement in the VHAs right now and it's in everyone's best interest to be mutually supportive. 

The Picnic - While I was in Castle Park I set up Nathan's electronic drum kit in Ernie Kelly's garage and went over to practice the 'picnic tunes' each day. It was quite a nice part of a routine that included jogging, swimming and bike-riding with Marth. After we got back it was a brief three weeks before I drove back to Chicago for the annual picnic routine - this time in my car rather than the van.

It turned out I had a business event (with FARE) in the days before the picnic gig. So I went out earlier and first stayed out at Hyatt Rosemont and then moved to a hotel off Michigan Avenue downtown where we had the conference. And then stayed at Dan's for the weekend.

The 9th Annual Neighborhood Picnic was another success, thanks to everyone who pitches in for it. I contributed the video cameras -- one of which was toppled by some over-hyper little urchin. With a few exceptions, my songs and performances came off relatively well. I'm coming to gauge both the selections and scripting better each year -- and balancing out literal and spontaneous interpretations. And so I'm also enjoying it more.

More Change - Shortly after returning, I switched jobs; leaving FARE and starting with the National Patient Advocate Foundation. In many respects it's a bigger job with a bigger organization (on paper). Even though it was smaller, FARE was a much more professional organization.

NPAF is racked by an institutional structure and personal legacy issues that have stifled its growth, professionalism and even competence. And it's much too dependent on drug company money.

On the boys; Nathan was selected to be in The Immortals - the Loudoun Music Instruction's top band made up of the most dedicated and talented students. We had to debate some time whether to pursue sports or make this very sizable commitment. Nate essentially made it himself, realizing that now in high school he'll have limited ability to make it in the sports teams. And he can still pursue tennis and do some intramural basketball. He was also selected by Loudoun Valley Jazz Band, which means that both he and Patrick are in it. We are extremely proud.

As part of his drama class, Patrick and the other students competed in the Virginia Theater Association against 50 other Virginia high schools with an original play called "The Trial of Ygor".....and won first place!! They are now going to Chattanooga in March to compete in nationals -- though we have to find ways to raise quite a bit of money to support it.

Otherwise, Patrick decided against doing the big fall drama production at school -- which was the Addams Family. He felt it was a little too 'cartoonish' and hasn't been getting along with the drama director (and neither have many of the other kids and their parents). So he decided to do community theater, in a production of Oliver. He played the Artful Dodger and did a marvelous job (see video). His grandmother and Uncle Dave came out to see it and were justly impressed.

Patrick also loved the directer, Karla Louis, who runs a theater production company. So when she asked him to be part of a Christmas Pageant, he jumped at it - performing "Let It Snow" as part of a large and touching production.

For Christmas we had Jamie come out for about a week and it was nice to have him here for the holidays.