Kent

Grace and I were born in the same hospital in Alliance, Ohio some 30 years apart. She grew up in Alliance. My grandparents Fred and Irene Stuckey are buried there. They were Church of the Brethren, an early Reformation Anabaptist sect like the Mennonites, Amish, or Hutterites. Some of the Brethren were also Moravians; a pre Reformation Bohemian sect. Needless to say willful obstinance runs in our veins. Fred was born in 1900 and died in 2000 two months after his 100th birthday. We visited one of Grace's oldest friends, Betty Sonday Thorpe, during our swing through Alliance.

Our next stop was Canton, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Perie Brown, the mother of my oldest friend John Panagos. We headed out to dinner at an amazing restaurant complex called Gervasi Vineyard Bistro. Great ambiance and food. They brought Grace a special treat for her birthday year.

While we're on the subject of football, I took breakfast at our hotel this morning. The photo below of the two women watching television was taken at breakfast. They were watching and commenting on the run up to the NFL draft. Not a game, not the draft itselft, but a show on the run up. At Breakfast! They really know how to grow sportsfans here in Northeast Ohio.

While here Grace and I are staying at the Kent State University Inn and Conference Center. It's a joint venture with the University. Quite a nice place and right in the middle of a revitalized towncenter. We spent today visiting friends and neighbors from our old neighborhood. Neighbor Jan Palermo hosted a nice gathering. Afterwards we were able to visit the home where I grew up and where Grace and Bill lived for 50 plus years before their move to Wisconsin. Note the daffodils.

Yesterday I shared coffee and memories with Lisa Kurtz-Myers, my first real girlfriend. It was great catching up, although a little unsettling as she reminded me how little self awareness I had back in the day. Somewhat demanding, possessive, self-centered and sexist too. Jeez. I kept thinking that if our daughter Sophie had brought someone like that home I might have suggested she look for a new boyfriend. Actually I was a pretty good boyfriend, given the historical context, and Lisa reminded me of those qualities too. Nancy suggested that we invite Lisa and her husband to visit next time they're in California and I hope they take us up on it.

Tomorrow is Easter. We catch up with friends from the Kent United Church of Christ, then head to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to visit with Grace's middle sister Lois and her family.Read more