Dear Shirley,
There is nothing better than buttered noodles with parmesan cheese.
Emily Evers, Madi Buck and Siri Burck say they ate a lot of noodles in the past five years. They are University of North Dakota women’s basketball players who have shared an apartment. This week they are moving on with the diplomas they picked up at UND’s graduation ceremonies Saturday.
There is joy. There is anticipation. And I could sense a tinge of sadness after the graduation ceremonies.
This week, they are heading out in different directions. Emily and Madi are hoping to play more basketball. Siri has her heart set on becoming a pharmacist -- just like her parents.
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They are proud. Their teams have led UND into Division I. As they move on this week, they are remembering years of travel. They learned to roll their clothes for packing. They had their favorite traveling gear.
‘‘We had it down to a system,’’ Emily said. “It was really cool going all over the country, seeing new places.”
Since she grew up in Grand Forks, it was an added bonus to have her family at home games. And then there was the joy of having her grandparents, Hod and Del Hutson, coming down from Grafton to watch her games.
Forty or 50 years from now, the three will probably still be getting together. They will laugh about the noise Siri used to make with her clog-like slippers.
They probably will have some noodles -- for old time's sake.
The class of 2015 has scattered, Shirley. They took with them a myriad of memories.
In another week or so, the high schools here will be sending their seniors out into the world.
I think it’s exciting to live in a college city with all of the vibrancy of youth. I suppose the 40,000 students at the University of Arizona have scattered, too. And I notice you are having a summer roundup in Old Tucson over Memorial Day. And the Tucson Pops Orchestra will be presenting music under the stars.
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I don’t suppose you have dandelions down there in Arizona. We had a new crop around here. And the grass is growing like crazy.
And I can tell you, Shirley, there is nothing as beautiful as a purple tulip. They are blooming now, but in the blink of an eye they will be gone.
These are the most beautiful days in Grand Forks. There are flowering trees and shrubs in full glory. And the rhubarb is coming up in my backyard.
These are the days we wait for all winter long.
The fish are telling their children to dodge the hooks in the Red River as it flows north.
Love from your sister, Marilyn, watching the lilacs bloom in the Red River Valley of the North.
P.S. The big news around here this week was about UND hockey coach Dave Hakstol moving on to be the coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Good news for him. Great news for his successor, Brad Berry.
