Subject: Weekend Update: June 5, 2000
Date:    Mon 6/5/00  2:24pm

On Friday, we added a high school graduate to the Metcalfe family
because Jessica apparently passed all her courses.  I suspected as
much when, last Tuesday, I sat through 2.5 hours of awards for many of
her classmates to find out that Jessica was graduating in the top 10
percent of her class.  Not bad considering she is the daughter of a
guy who placed somewhere in the bottom half, third, and quarter of his
class.  But then there's Joy, isn't there?  Always "Joy this" and "Joy
that".  But this is about Jessica, now.

As [bad] luck would have it, the scheduled outdoor ceremony was moved
indoors because of the threat of thunderstorm activity in the area.
Jess was very disappointed.  We got a late start heading over to the
school and got stuck in traffic which was going to the same place we
were.  I tried to console Jessica that they wouldn't start on time
because everyone was trying to get there.  I was wrong, but luckily We
got there at 5:45 for a 6:00 beginning and by golly, they started on
the dot. (she was supposed to be there by 5:15. Oops.)  

The indoor auditorium only sat two guests for each graduate.  I
figured Joy and her Dad, who traveled from Pennsylvania to see the
event, should be the ones to see it in person. Miranda, Andrew, and I
watched on closed-circuit television in one of the many classrooms at
the school.  (By the by, Emily was away all week on a class trip to
Washington DC and other cities.  In Philidelphia, the teachers and
kids held a race up the steps (a la Rockie Balboa).)

The only thing that concerned me at all was the threat of a power
outage to spoil the televised event, (or some school official
recognizing me from a wanted poster from my high school days).  As it
turned out, we saw a lot of Jessica on the TV because she sat in the
front row.  We also sat in relative comfort in cool surroundings; the
auditorium was moist and sweltering, so it was 'easy street' for us.
After the mortars were tossed in the air, Jess and a friend went to
someone else's graduation party and came home in time for us to enjoy
a few ice cream cones.  We have postponed her graduation party until
Saturday, June 10, to accommodate friends and family.  More on that a
little later.

On Saturday, we hosted a graduation party for the friends and family
of Andrew Magnuson.  (It was somewhat of a trial run for us for next
Saturday!)  Saturday's weather was picture perfect and the party was a
great success.  My only complaint (or relief, depending on one's
perspective) was that it was too breezy in the morning to complete the
spray-painting of the fence.  Robert Linton (Andrew's uncle) gave the
horseshoe pits a gruelling workout, reigning undefeated all day, no
matter which partner he worked with.  The teens spent much of their
time around the volleyball net and the pool, with some hoop played
from time to time.  A good time was capped off in the evening with a
viewing of the movie "Rocketman." ("It wasn't me!")

On Sunday, we started our Summer Sunday picnic lunches at the Manor.
We had a most enjoyable afternoon with Paul, Lorraine, Nandi, and
Maya; friends from church who know their horticulture; and now is the
time of year to know it at Metcalfe Manor!  The clouds were on the
increase all day but the rains held off until our visit was over. Then
the clouds and rains are forecasted to stay with us until the second
half of this week.  Summer seems to want to start and sputter like
that persnickety gas weed whacker of mine.  The weathermen tell us
that we should get back to summer in the latter half of the week.
Good thing, too...  Mom and Dad return from Scotland and Jan and
Meredith return from the "Around the Country in 80 Days" trip.

If you want to come to Jessica's graduation party this Saturday,
you're welcome!  Just let us know so Joy can ensure that we have the
proper amounts of digestibles.  Bring bathings suits and beach towels.
That's all.  That's Saturday, June 10, beginning at 2PM (in case I
need to finish spray-painting that fence!)

Enjoy!

Mark

P.S.  Tomorrow is D-Day.  I am marking the occasion by getting a
wisdom tooth extracted.  I am not looking forward to hitting the
beach on this one.
  _________________________________________________  _________________________
 /                                          _      ||                         \
|   .o__|       |__o.             __|     o/ o_|   || Mark Metcalfe           |
| o/  vv`\     /'vv  \o        o  vv`\   / \ vv`\  || Cadence Design Systems  |
|  \      |   |      /      o/        |    |\    | || 270 Billerica Road, MS04|
|  |\     |   |     /|      |         |   / /    | || Chelmsford, MA 01824    |
| / /     |   |     \ \    /\         |          | || (978) 446-6451          |
|         |   |           / /         |          | || metcalfe@cadence.com    |
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