Friday a week and half ago Stephanie, Frisco, and I left LATE - at 7 p.m. - to pick Vincent up from his next to the last visitation with his father, this one about 10 days. We drove on I-71 through Cincinnati, past a Reds game.
I blogged on the way there (in Word). I tried to reach our mothers, but both were busy watching the Olympics opening ceremony. Aunt Sandy let me interrupt her watching, and she told me about the two epidurals (the first one very painful) she'd undergone and the upcoming doctor's visit for Grandpa. Sandy had a time going away with Don to church camp for two weeks. A couple of years ago my sister stayed with Grandpa for much of a week. This time no family members were coming forward. Grandpa was pretty gung ho about staying by himself for two weeks - which isn't realistic with his macular degeneration and his advancing age and really devalues what Sandy and Don do for him the rest of the year - and Grandpa was also dead set on not giving anyone compensation for helping him out. Mom came forward with some money and Sandy quit consulting Grandpa (who at one point asked Sandy - "Where's your faith" - either God would take care of him or it would be his time) and went ahead and arranged for some church friends to help out.
We took an unusual route and got to Vincent's father's in far eastern Columbus at just before 10 p.m. Stephanie amazing me with her navigation skills after being gone from Ohio for 10 years. Vincent's father's gave an unusual speech - urging Vincent to stay on the college path ("since your Mom can help make that possible" - (that is, I'm going to continue not to fork over a cent)) - instead of going wrong like he did - starting when he was 13 and "started hanging out with the wrong crowd" (how about his own family?) - and then - at 16 - dropping out of high school. He also went on about making bad choices, including fighting and women (referring to Stephanie, Vincent's step-mother, and/or the mother of his youngest child?)
On the phone approaching Columbus it was clear we were going to have a different challenge with Vincent from when he came back from Denmark, when he was depressed and wanted to go back. In this case, he was eager to get home to see a midnight revival showing of "Pulp Fiction," which I didn't really want him to see, with friends (when we might want to linger in Ohio or go to WV).
We stopped to take out some Donato's pizza (mariachi beef)- Stephanie's favorite - then got to Pickerington - although we missed the U.S. team's entry into the Olympic stadium - the Bird's Nest - in time to see several countries and Yao Ming march in with the Chinese team - really, the whole last hour of the program, including the fireworks. I continue to have very mixed feelings about the Olympics in China. But everyone we called had loved it, and it was quite an extravaganza. En route I thought to myself - well, our Mom's haven't seen Thunder (Over Louisville) - but, once we were there, I didn't say that.
Saturday morning Stephanie's mother made some curtains for us out of some material Stephanie had brought. Then she, Stephanie, and Vincent went out shopping at the J.C. Penney's outlet nearby, where Vincent got three pairs of pants and a dress shirt for back to school.
Neither Nancy nor Bob had been feeling great, and the shopping trip took a lot out of Nancy. Bob, Frisco, and I had stayed back. I had blogged, and Frisco and Nancy enjoyed each other after they returned from shopping.
We hung around long enough to note that Vincent - who I thought was just 1 or 2 inches taller than I (at 5' 7") am, and Bob, who I thought was about 6 feet tall, were about the same height.
But then late Saturday afternoon we embarked for points south.
-- Perry
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