Dear Shirley,
I am writing you in Tucson today from Pittsburgh. Thanksgiving is over and the great race to Christmas has begun. Some of the stores here in Pittsburgh were opening at midnight. They want to make hay today on the biggest shopping day of the year!
Half of the people around here are wearing Steelers shirts and raking leaves. Win or lose in Pittsburgh, they love their football team and Big Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback. The great big red and yellow leaves are still falling from the beautiful maple trees.
I hope your flight to Denver for Thanksgiving dinner with the nieces and nephews was good. I had no problem getting here from Grand Forks on Monday morning. We were up and away from Grand Forks at 8:10 a.m. with about 50 people on the plane. We landed at the F Gate and my flight to Pittsburgh was out of Gate C-24. That means I had a long, long hike, which I welcomed. I like strolling through the airport in Minneapolis-St. Paul and taking in all the sights and sounds. And there is no charge for this early-morning walk.
James, Carmen and Bob met me at the Northwest baggage claim when I arrived in Pittsburgh. James and Carmen are still young enough to be excited about my coming to see them. Too soon, these grandchildren grow up. James is 7 and Carmen is 4. A very precocious 4.
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They have the same J.C. Penney and Kohl's flyers in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as they do in the Herald. Some of the stores are different, though. We have been to IKEA and the Giant Eagle Market. Both places have playlands for young children. Carmen and James hang out there and make fleeting friendships.
I like the Giant Eagle Market because they have hand cleaners available at the entry and play areas. It would be good to see more of them around public places, don't you think? It would be especially good in restaurants. In our mobile, fast-paced society, we have forgotten the old-fashioned custom of washing our hands before meals.
This is an interesting city, Shirley. They have just done a massive renovation of the Dinosaur Hall at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Now, they are hoping to stage the World's Largest Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony on Feb. 10. They want to beat the record of 272 couples held by Sydney, Australia, in the Guinness Book of World Records. The contest will be part of Pittsburgh's 250th birthday next year.
I'll be hanging around Pittsburgh until Saturday. I hope to get home in time for the UND Fighting Sioux men's basketball game and hockey with Duluth afterward. I hope to hear some of the big Sioux football playoff game in Grand Rapids, Mich. I will be on pins and needles and hoping for good things to happen. That football team has given us plenty to cheer about this year.
Love from your sister, Marilyn, eating leftover turkey and walking up and down the hills of Pittsburgh.
