Random Notes from the Sunday Sandwich Life

1.  I'm fascinated with the 'recommended videos' that show up for me when I go to youtube.  Today it was Quiet Riot "Cum On Feel the Noize," George Harrison on the Smothers Brothers and Van Halen "Unchained."  I've mostly been watching videos of the Iowa City flooding and of Kane Welch Kaplin.  Huh…….

2.  I've been following the Iowa City flooding via the news and youtube somewhat obsessively.  My sister Judi used to teach at the University of Iowa and I loved Iowa City and her house there.  When we decided to leave Chicago she was living in Ann Arbor.  We had lived near there when I was in grad school and while it's a great town in many ways it wasn't someplace we wanted to move to so we ended up back here in Champaign which had the added plus of Ernie's family. I've often thought that if she had been living in Iowa City at the time we would have ended up there however.  My sister's poor house is no doubt flooded by now as she was just one block off Normandy Drive and in the area that was evacuated.

3.  I neglected to tell Owen that it was Sunday so we didn't go to church….maybe next week. I watched Meet The Press to watch all the Tim Russert accolades and felt very sad.  I talked to my mother about it and her sadness was for Tim Russert's father.  I went over and did her food shopping for her.  I sat and talked awhile and did a few things around the house but I could tell she was awfully sad when I left. I think this is probably the hardest time for her…now that my sisters are gone and she's back to the lonely reality of life without my father.  Even when he was confused he was a presence there for her.

Today was the first day I headed into the Urbana Schnuck's since he died and it did give me a twinge or two.

4. We've sworn off all birthday gifts and the like as we save money for Kane Welch Kaplin.  It does sure make a holiday like Father's Day easier….sorry Ern.  Owen did draw a very nice card for him however and Leo smiled and said "Happy Father's Day chicken."  He thinks it's hysterically funny to call his father (and other family members) chicken or chicken nugget.  It seems relatively benign so we just call him chicken back. We're celebrating Father's Day later with some friends so it should be a good day.

5.  Last night as it was getting dark the boys put their new swim trunks on and dove into their little pool.  I was kind of hot and it looked like a good place to watch for bats so I looked at the clothes I was wearing consideringly and decided to go ahead and jump in.  It was delightful and it was indeed a good spot for sighting bats.  After awhile Ricky and Jack got in too and I decided that being in a 10 foot pool with four boys doing cannonballs was perhaps going to kill me so I climbed out and sat in the darkness, just a candle flickering, with Ernie and Dave as we watched the kids and the fireflies.  It was the best thing I've done for myself in quite awhile.

6.  Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there….