DEC-B-5
THE FAITHFUL BRONCO’S SMOOTH AND FLAWLESS DRIVE ACROSS NY, PA, OH, IN,
AND TO HIGHLAND PARK IL TO BEGIN THE NEXT PHASE OF THE HOLIDAY VISITS ACROSS
THE MIDWEST IN CHRISTMAS-TIME WINTER; VISIT WITH VIRGINIA IN HER SINGING
PERFORMANCE MODE AT DEL RIO
December 21, 2003
The tireless Bronco swallowed 553 miles in eight hours of nearly non-stop 70-mph-cruise-control cross “North Country” travel on the first day of Winter on today’s winter solstice. I arrived on time in Chicago and made it around the town to Highland Park Illinois because of a general idea of where I was going and a little help from MapQuest.com I did not stop for lunch, since Fran had supplied me with a venison sandwich and a salmon pate for my road trip, so with two stops to pee one of which included a gas fill up I was across country within one complete book on tape.
I have checked in to the Marriott Courtyard here at Highland Park and now will await a call from Virginia “between sets” in her show at Del Rio. She is very busy while performing, and also said she would have to not join me here since she has to feed her dog Cherry who is with her at Betsy’s house where he is being taken care of while she is here for the two weeks’ of performances. She will be going to join the family (minus her brothers) at her sister Kate’s newly settled house in Wisconsin for Christmas before she drive s a Jeep Liberty she had rented for this two weeks at an amazing bargain price, rather than taking the big Dodge Ram up for this winter gig. So, I hope to see her and celebrate a bit of the happy holiday with her before I decamp in the Bronco and head around the Big Lake to Grand Rapids for the planned reunions with all of my family there. When I fly back to DCA, I will have the Audi Quattro awaiting me in the GW lot for the first time, and then will visit with the twins and Judy who are already there at the time of my arrival and Michael who will be arriving when I do.
CHRISTMAS CAROLING AND HOLIDAY VISITING
IN A SURPRISINGLY MILD CHICAGO
WINTER-TIME
VISIT IN HIGHLAND PARK
I went to Del Rio “between sets” to visit with Virginia and the team she had picked for the performances this year, Larry the tenor, Lorenzo the baritone, Kit the accompanist, and two sopranos as well as Virginia herself, clearly the biggest voice, and the one most of the steady customers come to hear. I did not hear their performance on my arrival, but went back to the hotel to watch a part of Titanic on TV and to await Virginia’s brief visit after her second performance. We rendezvoused for
breakfast and some serioujs conversation in the following morning before going out to do a bit of Christmas shopping for her nieces, as well as a stop at Abt appliances to look over some of the Viking appliances for which I will trigger the collective order now as well as the complete interior furnishings through Sandy Shelor. We spent a very frustrating time for more than an hour trying to book the flight arrangements to have Virginia come to Derwood for the now-postponed January 8 “walkthrough” and an onward connection to Jacksonville. After playing endless computer games and then trying to book on phone and on-line through endless menus, all I got was a disconnect and the frustration ofd seeing the prices of everything treble in our inability to get them booked for the brief Florida rendezvous. I have tried again by simplifying the menu of flights and mutlitple desitiantions omitting the Washington DC stopover, and the direct round trip from DesMoihnes to Jacksonville actually had the price of those flights go UP! I still could not get them confirmed and want to throw out all the “convenience” of this on-line shopping for flights—which are bargains only if they get you to travel when you don ont want to go to places you have no intent to visit.
After lunch and a chance to visit before Virginia went off to work, I found my way to the very large Chicago Botanic Gardens, with extensive paved running trails around lakes and adjhacen t wild places—all within hearing distance of the I-94 corridor. I even got a photo of a deer standing still in front of me on the run in urban chicago’s northern suburbs. I then went to the “packed house”first set of the Monday evening performance and applauyded from the barstool I have used before in the full house. I joined Virginia and her fellow performers at their between-sets break, had dinner with them as they were engaged in their shop talk which must be as foreign as I sound in a group of medical peers, and left before they rehearsed to go on for their second set.
DEPARTURE FROM THE CHICAGO PART TWO OF
THE
CHRISTMAS-TIME ROAD TRIP
I rendezvoused with Virginia as her guest at the Northwest University SPAC= Sports and Athletics Complex, a spectacular indoor facility and gym. We ran on the treadmill and I ran around the indoor track before using the rowing machine. WE then went to breakfast at Walker’s where I listened in rapt attention to Virginia’s clear-eyed analysis of her, and me and us. Much as I had three and a half years ago when I had looked in wonder at her across a table in a Mexican Restaurant on the Rockville Pike after we had returned from canoeing on her first visit to Derwood, I realized anew the depth and clarity of this very real and most honest person, who understands us very well with crystal clear insights into what was, is and might be. I appreciate her more every new day, and am very happy to have her in my life in whatever role she chooses, as she is now in a transition in which she needs further time to heal. She is wonderful!
After a later exchange of gifts and a send-off in opposite directions, I drove around the bottom of Lake Michigan and into a rain storm that became snow as I merged from I-94 into I-96 around Benton Harbor. I kept the Bronco full speed ahead and arrived in Jenison at Milly’s house only a few minutes after they had left for a musical “Mama Mia” for which they had tickets. I called both Shirley and Martheen (they arrived yesterday about the same time I did today after a start at 2:00 AM to drive in from Connecticut. I will make the rounds of each of the households I can reach tomorrow on Christmas Eve and later Christmas Day. It is likely I will go over to Tom Grififioens’ house on Christmas night in order to be up and out early Friday morning for a bit of deer hunting on the adjacent farms. Then Friday evening is the Geelhoed Christmas party, and a last full day on Saturday before flying out on Saturday night to return to Maryland.
So, my
year-end letter has begun ‘Merry Christmas Maryland!" at least the last 33
years, but, with the exception of a couple of years of "Merry Christmas
from Massachusetts," for now, I will say what was true for the first 26
years, "Merry Christmas from Michigan!"