Dear Shirley,
I wish you could have been with us in Bismarck as we celebrated Jack's graduation from Century High School. It was a joyous event. And, of course I drove across North Dakota thinking of him as a little boy. He was our first grandchild. He was quite a rascal. He used to like it when I took him up to the Grand Forks Herald to see Jeff Tiedeman. He knew Tiede would always have some candy at his desk.
Now the parties are over. The relatives have gone home. And all the 2009 graduates are stepping gingerly into the real world. Jack has been working at Best Buy in Bismarck. This week, he is going back to Boy Scout Camp Wilderness to be on the staff again this summer. He thinks he would like to study economics.
Some people dread the long 250 mile drive out to Bismarck. I rather enjoy it, Shirley, if the weather's good. I take a different route all the time. This time, I went down past Hillsboro and west on Highway 200 to Blanchard. Then down on Highway 18 to Casselton. And on to Bismarck on Interstate 94. I was listening to short stories by Hemingway I checked out on CDs from the Grand Forks Public Library.
My car always does an automatic swerve as I approach Tower City on I-94. I had a long, long habit of stopping there. And now it's closed. It's a place where we would stop for lunch or pie and coffee. It was just part of the trip to Bismarck. And, once again, I had to tell myself things change.
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About the only thing that stays the same is the grass around my house. It keeps growing. And I am trying to keep up with it with my new Black and Decker electric mower. That other battery mower I told you about a couple years ago is OK, but it is more like a toy.
There has been kind of a lull around here this week. I am looking forward to the action of summer in Grand Forks. There are some very interesting things going on. Last night, for instance, was the first of a series of free movies at Empire Arts Center. They are followed by discussions of assimilation, ethnic heritage, family expectations, comedy in America and political correctness. And I was just reading about continuation of Blues on the Red on three Saturday evenings in Town Square this summer. Art Fest is coming up in the middle of June. There are summer theatres all around here. And a promise of local theatre along with SPA performances all summer long. Sertoma Club sponsors Fourth of July events, and Catfish Days are a highlight of August. The list of camps and seminars at UND this summer is long and intriguing.
The park district is holding a meet your leaders event this evening for the Just for Fun programs beginning Monday. The sprays are running in Elks and University Park, and Elks Pool is set to open Monday. Riverside Pool should be ready before long. Youth softball begins Monday on the first day of June. And there are golf and tennis programs starting up, too.
So much! Summertime is really fun around here, Shirley, with the dog park and the bike trails along the Greenway. I wouldn't miss it. But I do want you to reserve a room for me at your place in February or March! Right now, I know you are all gearing up for monsoon. That is the time when summer thunderstorms start rolling in. Do you know people who are training to be sky monitors?
Weather is something we all talk about, even though we can't do anything about it.
Love from your sister, Marilyn, looking at blue skies and green grass in the Red River Valley of the North.
P.S.: Did you know the Dionne quintuplets were born 75 years ago today in Ontario, Canada? Wonder whatever happened to all those Dionne paper dolls we used to have. Let's see, there was Marie, Emily, Yvonne, Annette and Cecile.
Reach Hagerty at mhagerty@gfherald.com or (701) 772-1055.
