Yesterday was the first and only warm and sunny day all week. People were out mowing their yards. What did I do? I stayed inside waiting for "the boys" to waken up. Eric slept until almost noon and then we just sat around for the afternoon.
The highlight for me was taking Sadie on a walk to downtown Crown Point and back while the boys were still sleeping. It was almost too hot for her. We walked down to the courthouse, the 1879-built Old Lady building, then down to the old jail and sheriff's office where John Dillinger escaped from. It's about three-four miles total.It was here in March 2008 that actor Johnny Depp filmed outside for three days in his starring roll as John Dillinger in the upcoming movie "Public Enemy" that will come out 1 July.
"Johnny Depp endeared himself to the people here" said Carol. I've read favorable reviews from others in the local area. I like Depp; he's one of today's best character actors.
The four of us ate--again!--at Gino's East. This time I had a pint of the Gumballhead beer but was disappointed in the flat taste this time. The beer clearly was not fresh. Even the pizza dough tasted dryer this time. Still, the food was still good and the place was still packed.
The rest of the evening resumed as usual: the boys were busy playing XBox but then Matt quietly left to avoid making a scene with the dogs. Both Sadie and Peanuts had another aggressive fight over their rawhide bones. Both dogs egg each other on by stealing each other's bones. Peanuts, though is usually the mean attacker. What I don't want is Sadie taking one bite at her; it wouldn't take much for Sadie to do some serious damage.
I can't blame Peanuts for getting mean. This is HER house she is protecting!
This morning I drove Eric back home and then to his job, feeling a little downcast that I probably won't see him for a while. I gave him my usual parting gift of monetary value and promised him I'd help him as much as I can for his schooling. If he gets accepted to the music school in Minnesota, I'll visit him next summer and drive part of the Great River Road from the river's springs down to northern Illinois. I've always loved gazing over the great Mississippi river. It's a powerful river rich in history and lovely river towns.
I finally went to my dad's graveside to trim the overgrown sod from around his stone. The ground was saturated, and it didn't help much that more drizzle fell in the late morning. I disturbed an ant colony and some eggs in the process.
Erin and Kristin came by in the afternoon with Ethan. I treated them to lunch at Texas Corral, getting stuffed one more time. This will be my last sit-down meal for a while. It was good to see Kristin again, hold Baby Ethan and talk about their plans. Those two women are good for each other.
My time is now coming to an end. All I need to do now is finalize my good-byes, choke back the tears, and move on. Oh, and I also have an entire van to clean out; rugs to wash and stuff to organize.
On a side note, I saw a photograph in today's Post-Tribune: my old PE instructor from Lew Wallace High School in Gary is now selected to be the new district supervisor. You go, Ms Campbell! She was the one who taught me how to dive properly from the side of a pool. Before her I was diving feet first into the water.
The other side note: a congressman from Lake County, Peter Visclosky who was friends with my father, and who was active with the Veterans has been found having landed his donors of his campaign over $45.3 million in congressional earmarks...this has been making news for a few days in the Post Tribune. Federal investigators are involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment