Subject: Weekend Update: February 21-23 2003
Date: Monday, February 24, 2003 1:08 PM

Emily and Andrew participated in the 30-hour Famine,
a fund-raiser for World Hunger. They did this along
with their local friends in the Pepperell Christian
Fellowship, except that Emily went away for the weekend
on Winter retreat with our Lowell First Church teens.
It was probably tougher on Emily to be fasting outside
of the program than it was for Andrew, but 30 hours is
a significant accomplishment for everyone who participated.

Miranda's flight home from Puerto Rico was delayed in a
minor way, but she called us from New York to let us know
that she had not been abducted, or fallen into terrorist
hands.  She told us that she'd spend the night in Quincy
to help Melissa pack up her apartment.  Melissa will be
moving to an apartment in Lowell soon.

That left Joy and me home alone all night on Friday. Well,
except that Richard stopped by with a piece of steak. I
had called earlier to perhaps get together.  I was hoping
to get a free meal out of Wendy but she had invited a girls
basketball team (somehow related to her sister) to stay at
their house overnight. Characteristically, she did invite
us to join them, but we declined to enter the tournament
and decided to spend a quiet evening at home instead. Enter
Rich, who took a break from the dribbling at his house.  As
Joy and I went to bed that night, I commented that I think
it was actually the first night we had ever spent completely
alone in the house.  Naturally, it made me think of where
we will be in a few short years.

I spent my Saturday maintenance time on the High Speed pinball
machine.  Andrew has been after me for a couple of years to
get it fixed, but I haven't had time or inclination until then.
It sounds like I know what I am talknig about, but I assure you
that I only picked up a few things from someone who does.
Beneath the playfield of a pinball machine is a mass of
multicolored wires and lights, and it the repair is more than
lights, rubber rings, or fuses, I am in trouble.  The right
flipper assembly needed a new solenoid and flipper hammer.  I
had intended to make a parts list and head to Norwood one of
these days to pick up the parts. As luck would have it,
I had both parts, though they were not exact replacements. (What
I really need is a new contact assembly for that flipper.) After
a bit of work including soldering (which impresses me!), the
machine was actually working.  We decided not to tell Andrew.

We picked up Andrew that afternoon.  He'd had spaghetti after
his fast and was ready to challenge his new high score on
Cactus Jack of 88 Million (beating the previous 74 Million
in the last Weekend Update).  Once he was fully involved in
the game, Joy turned on High Speed and began to play it.  I
cautioned Andrew not to play High Speed because it will weaken
his skills on Cactus Jack when 100 Million is within sight;
but he didn't listen.

Besides the pinball tournament action, Joy has set up the loft
for sewing the bridesmaids dresses. She has completed Emily's
(almost).  Jessica is bringing her friends home next week for
fitting and pinning.  I know that things are happening on the
wedding front, but I'm not privvy to much of it.

Miranda and Melissa arrived late in the afternoon with pictures
and presents in tow, a little more tan and a lot more happy for
their experience. While they were gone in 85-degree sunshine,
we had endured temperatures of down to -13F and a snow storm
of well-over a foot. They chose the right week to take a vacation!

We reconnected with Emily at church for the evening service.
When her fast ended, the food at the retreat was too spicy
for her stomach, so Victoria Clark took her out for something
a bit milder.

Joy and I were slated to sing in church Sunday evening.
I asked Miranda if she'd like to sing with us.  I think I
upset her making a joke with the congregation, saying that
I asked her to "sign" with us but she misunderstood. She was
nervous but did a fine job of singing the soprano lead to
"He Hideth My Soul"; I followed the tenor part and Joy filled
in the alto. "He Hideth My Soul" was a song that we most
associated with Esther Williamson at Eastern Nazarene College.
For many years, she was the director of the A Capella choir.
I used to drive Esther and other "seniors" to church on Sundays,
morning and evening. Joy and uor baby Miranda would accompany
me in the church van often for my rounds. When Miranda was
just a toddler Esther Williamson gave us $5 towards Miranda's
first voice lesson.*  Wouldn't she be happy to know that in
some way her $5 had finally paid a dividend.  (*Miranda never
took voice lessons, but we applied the money to other music
lessons on the violin.)

We're up to 1990 in our home video review; the first Psalty
play, rennovating the house at 5 Caldwell, vacations with the
Shaws and the Hodsdons.  It is a bittersweet activity to watch
these memories unfold again, knowing that even when you watch
life unfold with eyes wide open, it still evaporates in a hurry;
so we emphasize the "sweet" parts.

Mark