Subject: Weekend Update: October 6-9, 2000
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 12:05:12 -0400

I started the New England Columbus Day weekend early to be able to
enjoy the Fall colors while it was light out.  I decided to take
secondary roads all the way into Casco, Maine to avoid the many-mile
backups at the toll booths and to get my fill of reds, yellows,
oranges, and other colors along that spectrum.

We picked up Tim White along the way.  Pastor White is convalescing
rather well; he dropped his boy off at a rendezvous point.  He was
sporting a growth of stubble that made him look like he collected cans
for a living; wanted to surprise the congregation om Sunday.  Linda
Magnuson picked up the college students from ENC to complete the
attendance for the Metcalfe/Magnuson(White) weekend.

Over the years, we have had a number of people share the weekend with
us at Reed's cabin, generously loaned to us by Don and Elva Reed.
This year, the Reeds themselves joined us and we all had a great time!

The children have a checklist of things to do at Reed's for the
perfect weekend to occur and I believe they were able to check off
most every item.  On Saturday morning we punted canoes to the lake
where eight kids paddled three barks to "Razzleflabbin Island,"
despite a chilly and breezy morning.  The only disappointment was that
everyone didn't get to paddle.  They roamed the island and had an
acorn fight before shuttling back across the lake.

After lunch, we headed off to an Apple orchard in Poland to pick a
peck or a bushel; (only Dr. Reed and a few others knows what those
measurements really mean).  Several kids selected small pumpkins as
well.  We then drove to a closed summer camp to play some touch
football - Magnusons against the Metcalfes.  The game was not a
contest from the beginning, putting all the teenage boys on one side
and girls on the other.  However, it was because it wasn't a contest
that we enjoyed the game all the more.  The Metcalfe's had possession
of the ball and made the most plays of the game.  That's because the
Magnuson would score within a down or two and would have to kick off
to us again.  One completed pass to Joy had her run as fast as she
could down the sidelines.  Ryan caught up to her handily but amused
himself (and the rest of us) by not tagging her until she was close to
the goal. Everybody quarterbacked and both Miranda and Emily made key
plays of the game with spectacular catches. I developed sore muscles
chasing after teenage boys, and many of us came away with one or more
minor injuries; we will be able to play another season.

On Saturday evening, Don Reed went fishing with a friend a ways down
the lake.  We went to the basement to play a number of games of Round
Robin ping pong.  As the evening wore on, and it got dark, Dr. Reed
had not returned.  We were starting to get a little worried, although
I did not detect it from Mrs. Reed.  I was going to send out the
search party about the time Dr. Reed finally appeared, soaked from
head to toe, a fishing lure hooked onto the back of his trouser leg.
His friend tipped the canoe in the water and he was rather chagrined
about the whole thing, having earlier chortled about rememberances of
other visitors who had suffered the same shame.  I was most concerned
about hypothermia but after a hot shower he seemed none the worse for
wear, except for his pride.  His friend, who was responsible for the
dunking, was even more mortified.

On Sunday, we all went to the Sebago Lake Church of the Nazarene.
Most of us went into Sunday School.  Dr. Reed asked if we would sing
in church and luckily I had a backup tape in my van.  The twelve of us
got up in front.  I said that Joy Metcalfe was Tom Scheuermann's
sister-in-law (Hope's sister; they pastored that church many years
ago), Art Magnuson (who presently pastors the Portland ME church) was
Eric's brother and that Tim White was Krista Cassler's brother (which
meant nothing to the Mainers but had significance for Tim).  We sang
the now-familiar "This Little Light of Mine," which they seemed to
enjoy.

We walked "the Loop" on Sunday afternoon, a 4-mile trek to soften up
stiffening muscles.  On Sunday night, some of the kids begged us to
let them go out on the lake in the canoes, but we firmly let our
worries get the better of us and denied them that excitement.  The
stars at the lakefront were not dimmed, however, and several of them
saw shooting stars to cap off the evening.

We decided to come home after breakfast on Monday morning so that the
college kids could spend a few hours at home; it has been since
August.  They got warm showers and some winter things to take back
with them. Joy accompnaied me as I took the girls (and Andrew
Magnuson) back to ENC that evening.

I'd have to say that the weekend ranks up there with the best, and
we've been going to Reed's cabin for about 19 years (with a few
exceptions thrown in there).  We are constantly thankful for the
generosity of the Reeds, and they seemed to enjoy the time they spent
with us, despite the commotion that a dozen wired people bring to the
camp.

Next weekend, I'm off to California, so the Weekend Update may yet
again get delayed.  Have a great week!

Mark
--
+---_-----------+ Mark Metcalfe, metcalfe@cadence.com
| c a d e n c e | Cadence Design Systems, Inc.    Phone: (978) 446-6451
+---------------+ PCB Systems Division, Technical Communications Manager