And on Alayna’s graduation day yet, too! I became fully awake when I heard the roll of thunder and the raining pouring but was sort of wakeful from the song bird choir in the tree outside my opened window. Yes, an open window in what feels like the winter here. Today’s high temperature is predicted to be 66 above zero, and the location of the graduation ceremony is yet to be determined. Ordinarily, the graduates at Lincoln High do a magnificent entrance processional from their high school doors, down long steps in the ‘bowl’ where the chairs and bleachers are set up. The girls wear beautiful gowns, often their prom dresses and the boys generally wear suits or tuxedos. With there being hundreds and hundreds in this class, the processional is quite something to behold. The last one I viewed was my nephew, JR, in 2005, and the weather was good enough to hold it outdoors. When I say ‘viewed’, I mean that Justin and I were not ticket holders for the bleachers so we could watch from above, as it were, and I got great photos using my telephoto lens. This year, not likely to happen as I realized too late that my camera was on the table at home, not quite making it to the suitcase after the preschool graduation service! Rats!
*
My travel to WI was nearly without incident. While waiting for my flight in Cincinnati, and alarm and flashing lights went off, a voice telling the pending passengers that an emergency has been detected and we were to proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion. At first, no one really moved, and I watched to see what the woman at the gate desk was going to do. She was closing drawers and locking them, securing things, it seemed, so I began gathering my things to proceed orderly to the exit. An older lady sitting near me asked, “Does that mean us?” and I told her it did, but just then another loudspeaker announcement came on, reporting a false alarm, no need to evacuate. The lights and sirens kept going for a long while yet after the all clear but at least we didn’t have to go outside and then likely come back in through security again! I think someone burnt some toast in a restaurant which set off the alarms initially. Good thing I don’t work in a restaurant in an airport!!!
*
Linda and I made our connections perfectly timed as I pulled my suitcase out the doors of the terminal as she pulled up to the curb. The sun warmed the air and the wind was strong but it felt very good. The night before it was in the 50’s when we spoke and I had 85 degrees, quite the difference in temperatures! Linda and I stopped at a family restaurant for a light lunch (and so she could use the bathroom!) before we headed to Northwestern Publishing House to pick up, among other things, some wedding bulletins for church. She was using her Garmin GPS to navigate with but it was sending us on all backroads and not the most efficient way. I asked her if perhaps it was programmed to avoid highways and freeways, but she didn’t know for sure. It certainly seemed that way! Later, we asked Tommy about it and he sort of laughed, remembering he had programmed it that way for their ride home from northern IL last weekend, wanting to take a scenic route home…oops!
*
Eventually we did find NPH and managed to shed a few tears while reading the beautiful wall plaques and hangings, with the Bible verses special to us. We did each find a thing or two to buy, including something for Alayna’s graduation, a book or two, and Linda even got water bottles with Bible passages printed all over them. The Garmin again wanted us to roam through areas of Milwaukee we should not be driving through so we did an override and followed Good Hope Road to the freeway, killing the GPS once we found I-43. “Recalculating….Recalculating….Recalculating….Oh, just do what you want, I give up!!!”, it said to us ladies.
*
As we got closer to Manty, plans were made with the appropriate parties to have supper at the Green Street. Linda and I swung by to pick up Mom, Jill, and Lynn who fit rather snugly into Linda’s backseat. Tommy drove himself to the tavern and worked the barroom prior to our being seated. We knew people there, some of them related to my bro-in-law, David. Always, always we know someone at the Green Street Tavern! Linda dropped us off again at Mom’s and I finally got my stuff hauled upstairs and got settled in. My Dramamine had kicked in, making me quite drowsy so Mom and I both went to bed early. I slept until 8:00 a.m. central time, which would be 9:00 my time, so I guess I was tired! Judy J. had picked me up Wednesday a.m. just before 6:00 which meant I was up at 5:00 with a disturbed sleep, as usually occurs when I set the alarm. My neighbors were also going to the airport and offered to take me along but Judy said it was okay, she was up and already had me loaded in. If only we’d known though….
*
Yesterday Mom and I went to Wal*Mart to pick up some scrips for her and I bought a box of silver remover which I applied last night. Alayna needs us all to look our best for her graduation today! At least, I will. Kerry cooked our food on the grille last night after she arrived, in the rain. We managed to preserve the lighted grille by putting the trash can cover over the coals to keep them dry. Once the coals were nicely and white, she put the meat on and then covered them again with the same cover. It was certainly sterilized from the heat and flames, not actually touching the food. Lynn and Mom had the table dressed by the time Jill, Kerry, and I got upstairs with the food and we enjoyed our picnic supper together. Danny even came up and had a hot dog with us.
*
Alayna came over after 9:00 pm with the tickets for graduation seating and visited with us. She said to watch the news this a.m. and listen to the local radio station for news on the event, whether it will be moved indoors or not. This gov’t. high school does everything they can to hold the graduation outdoors, only a few times having to move it inside due to bad weather. I told her that the orchestra will have to play the processional song really fast in order to keep things moving along in case it clouds up again. We pictured the girls running with their lovely gowns, pushing and shoving down the long stairs to beat the rain. Not too much pomp and circumstance in that case! No moving along in an orderly fashion at all!!!
*
My travel to WI was nearly without incident. While waiting for my flight in Cincinnati, and alarm and flashing lights went off, a voice telling the pending passengers that an emergency has been detected and we were to proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion. At first, no one really moved, and I watched to see what the woman at the gate desk was going to do. She was closing drawers and locking them, securing things, it seemed, so I began gathering my things to proceed orderly to the exit. An older lady sitting near me asked, “Does that mean us?” and I told her it did, but just then another loudspeaker announcement came on, reporting a false alarm, no need to evacuate. The lights and sirens kept going for a long while yet after the all clear but at least we didn’t have to go outside and then likely come back in through security again! I think someone burnt some toast in a restaurant which set off the alarms initially. Good thing I don’t work in a restaurant in an airport!!!
*
Linda and I made our connections perfectly timed as I pulled my suitcase out the doors of the terminal as she pulled up to the curb. The sun warmed the air and the wind was strong but it felt very good. The night before it was in the 50’s when we spoke and I had 85 degrees, quite the difference in temperatures! Linda and I stopped at a family restaurant for a light lunch (and so she could use the bathroom!) before we headed to Northwestern Publishing House to pick up, among other things, some wedding bulletins for church. She was using her Garmin GPS to navigate with but it was sending us on all backroads and not the most efficient way. I asked her if perhaps it was programmed to avoid highways and freeways, but she didn’t know for sure. It certainly seemed that way! Later, we asked Tommy about it and he sort of laughed, remembering he had programmed it that way for their ride home from northern IL last weekend, wanting to take a scenic route home…oops!
*
Eventually we did find NPH and managed to shed a few tears while reading the beautiful wall plaques and hangings, with the Bible verses special to us. We did each find a thing or two to buy, including something for Alayna’s graduation, a book or two, and Linda even got water bottles with Bible passages printed all over them. The Garmin again wanted us to roam through areas of Milwaukee we should not be driving through so we did an override and followed Good Hope Road to the freeway, killing the GPS once we found I-43. “Recalculating….Recalculating….Recalculating….Oh, just do what you want, I give up!!!”, it said to us ladies.
*
As we got closer to Manty, plans were made with the appropriate parties to have supper at the Green Street. Linda and I swung by to pick up Mom, Jill, and Lynn who fit rather snugly into Linda’s backseat. Tommy drove himself to the tavern and worked the barroom prior to our being seated. We knew people there, some of them related to my bro-in-law, David. Always, always we know someone at the Green Street Tavern! Linda dropped us off again at Mom’s and I finally got my stuff hauled upstairs and got settled in. My Dramamine had kicked in, making me quite drowsy so Mom and I both went to bed early. I slept until 8:00 a.m. central time, which would be 9:00 my time, so I guess I was tired! Judy J. had picked me up Wednesday a.m. just before 6:00 which meant I was up at 5:00 with a disturbed sleep, as usually occurs when I set the alarm. My neighbors were also going to the airport and offered to take me along but Judy said it was okay, she was up and already had me loaded in. If only we’d known though….
*
Yesterday Mom and I went to Wal*Mart to pick up some scrips for her and I bought a box of silver remover which I applied last night. Alayna needs us all to look our best for her graduation today! At least, I will. Kerry cooked our food on the grille last night after she arrived, in the rain. We managed to preserve the lighted grille by putting the trash can cover over the coals to keep them dry. Once the coals were nicely and white, she put the meat on and then covered them again with the same cover. It was certainly sterilized from the heat and flames, not actually touching the food. Lynn and Mom had the table dressed by the time Jill, Kerry, and I got upstairs with the food and we enjoyed our picnic supper together. Danny even came up and had a hot dog with us.
*
Alayna came over after 9:00 pm with the tickets for graduation seating and visited with us. She said to watch the news this a.m. and listen to the local radio station for news on the event, whether it will be moved indoors or not. This gov’t. high school does everything they can to hold the graduation outdoors, only a few times having to move it inside due to bad weather. I told her that the orchestra will have to play the processional song really fast in order to keep things moving along in case it clouds up again. We pictured the girls running with their lovely gowns, pushing and shoving down the long stairs to beat the rain. Not too much pomp and circumstance in that case! No moving along in an orderly fashion at all!!!
