Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 12:18:27 -0500
Subject: Weekend Update: January 17-20, 2002

Joy thinks I get an allergic reaction when I enter a scholastic institution,
perhaps because I have told her as much in the past.  My own mother
and brother and good friends are academicians but that only means
that I have had more exposure to the *industry* of learning than I want. 
People occasionally ask me if I would like to "go for" my master's degree
and I ask "why?"  And why should all these thoughts come up just from
attending my son's middle school band concert last Thursday night? 
Proud parents packed into an auditorium, ill-designed for the crowd of
videographers and raffle hopefuls.   Despite these doleful observations,
I had a common bond with much of the other gathered folk in the feeling
of admiration and pride that one has for one's own child.

My child, the tallest and central figure in the back row, swaggered with
confidence to several Jazz tunes.  I noted that with his confidence came
improved skill and sound.  Joy graded my parental fulfillment of obligation
as "good" and coached me as to how I might pull my grade up to "great"
but I guess I was never the straight-A student. (I am told that I could improve
my nutritional intake by eating vegetables, but how likely is that?)  I am very
satisfied that each of my children have had music as part of their lives and
learning because music adds dimension to the mind and to the person,
and is just plain fun to do as much as it is to listen to.

We shipped Andrew off the next day to Junior High Retreat.  Emily also
found something to do with her friends on Firday evening, so Joy and I
ordered a pizza and enjoyed some time relaxing in front of the TV before
heading to the store to buy some groceries.  Joy thought that grocery
shopping together was "like old times" because she often does the shopping
alone.  (If it was like old times, I would have been stuffing the cart with things
not on her list, but I was probably occupied with the jazz tunes I had heard the
night before.) She graded my shopping performance as "satisfactory"; that
non-descript grade that places a person solidly in the fat section of the bell
curve.  (Interesting imagery considering I am talking about groceries!)

I braved the cold Saturday morning by taking down the lights and garland
from the exterior of the house.  Andrew is the last to remove his tree (his task
for Monday) which marks the full end of the Christmas season at the Manor. 
Pretty soon, if she hasn't already, Joy will dress up some stuffed bunnies in
Valentine's clothing. (These are better seen than described.)  The winter
decorations won't be swapped out until late March.

A little later, we went to brunch with Mark and Joyce Hamlin.  Since Emily
was home alone, we dragged her along, to her distinct pleasure.  We
intended to go to Scotch Pine Farms right here in Pepperell, but I might
have called ahead to ensure they were open to have saved Mark and Joyce
a trip out to the boonies.  Instead we turned tail and found our way to Bickfords
in Nashua.  After a filling brunch, we headed to the Tyngsboro Cinema to view
"The Lord of the Rings."  For those who have read the books well enough to
enjoy them vicariously, the movie was fabulous and faithful to Tolkien's work. 
For those who have not read the books, or not into the type of story Tolkien
wrote, the story may have been a bit confusing. The movie [intentionally] leaves
the whole story unfinished (because Tolkien never meant his story to be three
books, so the movie ends where the first book does). Nevertheless, I was
thrilled with the whole thing and can't wait until I can see it the whole way through!

Back at the homestead, we made a little preparation to receive friends
for a football party; to watch the Patriots play in the snow. Jan and Meredith
joined in the fun to get an education in what all the fuss was about.  Joy
graded them as "passing" but just because it was a football game.  Mark,
Joyce, David, Heather, Nicholas, David, Paula, Brandon, Kayla, Diane, 
and Eric were also there to root on the Patriots.  Rich was our token minority
(Raider's fan), attempting to bring a little balance to the party.  It was a good
party with the right outcome (except for Rich).  We were a little tired at church
the next morning since the game ended near midnight.  But before church the
next morning, Joy drove Emily around on Andrew's paper route and I arose
early to remove snow from the walks and driveway.   (I suppose one shouldn't
be taking their rest in church, but it looked as if not-a-few people were staying
up to watch the game.)

After the evening service, Andrew asked if Michael Magnuson could sleep
over and we said "sure" forgetting that our Eclipse is a four seater (and a
cramped one at that). (Massachusetts celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
so the schools are closed on Monday.) I exchanged vehicles with the Andrew
family. We took their van home while they sped off to a Sunday evening party. 
The Andrews pass our home on their way to church so it was easy for them to
recover their minivan later in the evening; and we got to spend an hour with
them as a bonus.

All in all, I'd give the weekend an A+.

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