Mon Mar 17 08:51 EST 1997
Weekend Update: March 14-16

(Long.  Might want to print out for later reading.)

It snowed here on Friday so I made my way home just after lunch.
In Pepperell, we got a few inches before the precipitation turned
to a freezing drizzle.  Because it has been cold, we have had a
plasticene panorama in Pepperell.  The lawns and fields are covered
with glistening and rippling sheets of white ice.  A person of my
weight crunches in the snow in most places, but Andrew can walk on
top of it without making any imprint.  I remember a snow in Butler,
New Jersey, that I could walk on and I was younger than Andrew is now.

We had dinner plans on Friday but our guests cancelled due to the snow.
So we called a few people who are crazy enough to venture out and played
cards that night anyway.  :-)  It really felt like "home" to sit around
the table with card playing.

Miranda and Jessica were down at ENC for the regional teen college
event (Festival of Life, known by ENC students as "Festering Lice").
They were supposed to come back late at night on Friday.  I asked Mom
and Dad to keep them overnight and we'd pick them up on Saturday.
My children brought home the gold again for craft, drama, and quizzing.

Saturday, Emily and Andrew also had a zone (?) quiz meet in Nashua.
Andrew came in second or third overall in his division.  Emily missed
the district team by ONE question.  I saw Allan and Harriet Douglas
there and rolled my car window down to tell them "I told my kids
to come home Number 1 or don't come home at all."  (I think Harriett
didn't know I was kidding.  I should be more careful.  I'm one of the
guys who educated his mother in what grades-other-than-A-or-B looked
like.)  Allan and Harriet's boy took first place overall, by the way!
(Nice boy, too!)

After quizzing we headed over the river and through the woods to
grandmother's house to pick up our other two kids, free food, and
a secretary's desk that belonged to my mother's father.  Mom and Dad's
housewarming gift has a prominent place in my new study.

Jennifer came over to the house with some guy named Mike, and we all
looked through old photographs from the family archives.  The girls especially
liked the note on the back of a photo of a teenage Helen Johnson writing
to her sweetheart, Russell who was at college, of her undying and faithful
love.  Dad informed us that during the year he preceded Mom to college
they wrote to each other ***EVERY DAY***.  (Postage was 3 cents!)
We also found some photos of the Metcalfe boys.

Dad's computer is now set for RealAudio.  He may be trying next for
Realvideo!  It was fun to use his computer as a guinea pig.  Now I can
install RealAudio, set up buddy lists, too.  "Spoke" to Keith and
Dana with AOL's immediate message (or whatever it is called) - all
on Dad's nickel!  I told Dana that I was going to vote to allow
Nazarenes to play the lottery but only if they gave 50% to the church
if they won.  (Mass Millions is $41M this week!)

Sunday evening after church we burned some burgers and dogs, and had
ice cream for a bunch of people.  Emily was carted away by a family
from the old neighborhood.  We have school vacation in Pepperell and
Emily wants to go back to her old school for a few days.  (Go figure.)
She has permission from the old school. We'll pick her up on Wednesday.
This could be bad or it could be good.  When you go back to a place,
it is hard to find that the people and the place were not in suspended
animation; they move on without you.  We'll see how it plays with Emily.
She is doing fine in her new school, but she still has loyalties and
best memories and friends in the other school.  And why not?  We've only
been in our house for just over two weeks.

That's plenty and I left out over half the details of the weekend.
No need to thank me.  Getting this far is thanks enough.

Mark
                Mark Metcalfe   ______ ______  "He has showed you, O man,
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.  _/      Y      \_  what is good. And what does
  270 Billerica Road, MS 04  // ~~ ~~ | Micah \\  the Lord require of you?
      Chelmsford, MA 01824  // ~ ~ ~~ |  6:8   \\  To act justly and to love
      Tel: (508) 446-6451  //________.|.________\\  mercy and to walk humbly
   metcalfe@candence.com  `----------`-'----------'  with your God."