Saturday was Mer’s day, and she had us head down to Canton around 10:30. We went to the McKinley Memorial and Presidential Library, which sounds really odd if you are not familiar with the library. It somehow grew to be a museum with a science wing, a planetarium, a museum about Stark County, and a space for rotating exhibits. Mer and I had become members of the museum about a year ago, and she wanted to get in one last visit before our membership expired.
I’m glad she did – the science wing had been renovated recently, with some added exhibits about robots, including a couple of interactive exhibits where you got to operate a robotic arm. It turns out that Mer is pretty good at running the arms, even when they are controlled with two joysticks. Much of the rest of the museum was the same, but it included some fossils of dinosaurs and mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, so that was pretty great.
We took in a show at the planetarium, which was about the current summer night sky, with an emphasis on how there is nowhere in Ohio where the real night sky can be seen because of light pollution. The astronomer running the show was funny and entertaining, but it was kind of sad when he said only ten percent of Americans have seen the Milky Way, and only one percent has seen the Andromeda Galaxy, which used to be bright enough in the night sky to cast shadows. I know I have seen the Milky Way (in Maine, in my Dad’s driveway), but I’m not sure if I have seen Andromeda.
We finished the visit in the Stark County section, which sounds tame, but has some interesting exhibits on President McKinley, and on industry in Stark County. We finished the entire museum just as it was closing at 4:00.
Mer then took me to Aunt Zovie’s house; she lives in Canton. Aunt Zovie is an old family friend of Mer’s, and we had not seen her in a couple of years. Aunt Zovie recently tripped on her dog and broke her leg, so she was recovering at home with the use of a walker. As an added bonus, her daughter Marian was home, and Marian is a professional singer who spends much of her time in New York. She is bright and funny, and mixes with interesting people, so she is fascinating to listen to. Aunt Zovie is world’s most gracious and positive person, so she is a delight. An old family friend of Aunt Zovie and Marian’s was also there; Erma works in computers and networking at the University of Cincinnati, and although she is quiet, when she does speak, it is usually pretty funny. All in all, the two hours we spent there flew by. What a great family!
On Sunday, we headed down to New Baltimore with Dale and Carlene to see more old family friends – the George clan was celebrating Ray’s seventy-fifth birthday. Mer and her family have known the Georges since Mer was three, so the families have been close for over thirty years. I have known the Georges for about twenty years, and they are grand people. The party was full of folks from church as well, so it was a festive occasion. All of the George children made it back for the party, and most of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. As if that was not enough, there were nine kittens in the barn to watch romp around and occasionally scoop up. Aunt Mary was there as well, and so we got to visit while kitten-watching. It was a fine afternoon; we headed home after a couple of hours to get Dale and Carlene back to Cardinal in time for supper.