Saturday the 21st was Mer’s day, but it was on a slight delay. We started the day helping our freinds Zach and Londa move. The were moving from an apartment near our house to their newly purchased first house about three miles away. I had helped Zach move twice before, and he runs a very efficient move. It was even more organized with Londa – everything was boxed up and labeled with the location where the box was to go in the new house. We had a lot of people there to help, which included several members of the soccer team at one point. We probably had about a dozen movers, and we were able to get everything on the truck (and in cars) and over to the new place, and get it all unpacked, in about 90 minutes. Zach and Londa also always makes sure their help is well fed, so there was lots of pizza and cookies and such. Since I knew most of the people involved in the move, it was a very fun time, with good fellowship and good humor.

Once we got back home and got situated, Mer took me out for a surprise. We headed out, and went down several roads that I had not been down before, and we ended up in Solon. We pulled in to Solon High School and got out. I was a bit confused – there were several people in the parking lot, all of whom were Asian. I could not figure out what would be the draw for such a large number of a relatively small demographic. It turned out to be that Solon High School offers Chinese, but that is not what we were there for. I found out once we got to the doors – there were posters for a production for Hamlet. I was quite surprised, and a bit shocked. I had not thought that a high school would ever attempt Hamlet. I was quite interested in seeing how they would pull it off.

Quite well, as it turns out. We finally found the auditorium in the huge school. The entire production, including audience seating, was on the stage of the auditorium. This made for great intimate theater, but was a bit of a condemnation of Solon’s theatergoing crowd. There was seating in the auditorium for hundreds, but Hamlet was set up for seating for maybe about 80 or so. Since the cast of Hamlet was very large (about 20-25 students) and there were only four performances, you would have thought they could have had more people in the audience. In defense of the program, they did have to shift the starting time suddenly to 2:00 in the afternoon because of Solon going deep into the football playoffs, so maybe that threw some people off their schedule.

Anyway, the production of Hamlet was very good, with some excellent aspects to it. It was a modern production, where Denmark was set as a video game company. Cladius had recently taken over as CEO after the death (murder) of Hamlet’s father. The stage was set up as a board room on one end (with two levels), and a video game testing area on the other. The action of the play happened mostly in the open space in between, with some thiings happening in the board room area. As such, the set was simple and clean, but worked very well.

The set had clever aspects. When Hamlet was looking for the ghost of his father, he walked past the portrait of Hamlet, Sr. Very suddenly, a face and hands started to come through the portrait – it turned out to be made of some kind of stretchy fabric, and an actor was pushing against the screen. It was very creepy and effective. Then, Hamlet charged out into the open stage, and the entire stage became fogged in using fog machines that were located under our seats. It felt as if we were there with Hamlet, and it was great. Later in the play, when Hamlet kills Polonius, Polonius was hiding on the second level of the boardroom, Once he was shot, he staggered out from behind the curtain where he had hidden, and he crashed through the handrail of the balcony and fell onto the boardroom table. Very high energy and well done.

The acting was very solid all the way around, especially for high school students. There were a few students who did not sound natural in their lines, but the major characters did quite well. Casting was interesting and worked. Horatio (Hamlet’s good freind) was cast with a girl in the role. It added some sexual tension to the role. Mer put it well by saying that Hamlet and Horatio were good friends who could have been more, but were not. It also allowed Horatio to act in a more stereotypically feminine way – she could cry when Hamlet died, and it was very moving. Rosencrantz (Hamlet’s schoolmate) was also a girl, and she played Rosencrantz as a woman who flirted with anyone in power (including the king, Cladius). It was very effective, and added to how Rosencrantz was not really on Hamlet’s side.

Ophelia was very solid, except I thought her mad scene was too over the top. It came across as almost comical, when it should be a very piteous scene. Still, she did a nice job in her other scenes, especially with Hamlet.

The real gem of the show was the actor who played Hamlet. He was amazing. He may very well be the best actor I have seen under the age of 25, and maybe under the age of 30. He had a full grasp of what he was saying and infused his lines with proper emotion and energy. He had such command of his lines he was able to recite an entire scene with Rosencrantz and Guildernstern while actively fencing against both of them (and winning). It was just remarkable. I would stand this 18-year-old’s performance of Hamlet next to any that I have seen.

I was also very pleased with the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy. Many people think this is Hamlet musing on committing suicide. It is not – it is a speech about how Hamlet will probably die if he tries to kill the king, and how he could live if he stays quiet. This production got it right, and added dramatic tension to it. Hamlet gave the speech while assembling a gun, and at one point he points it at Ophelia (who is on stage) before putting the gun away.

All in all, it was a very good production. My guess is the directors decided to do Hamlet because they had an actor who could play Hamlet (not something that is a given at a high school level). Still, it proved me wrong in my suspicions that a high school could not pull off Hamlet. Kudos to Solon High School.

You might think the day was done, but you would be wrong. We headed south to Canton, and Mer took me to our cheap movie theater so I could see Julie and Julia. Mer had seen the film with her folks when we were in Maine in October, and she wanted me to see it. It was quite good. The movie is the story of how a young woman decides to cook through all of Julie Child’s French cookbook in one year. The film is cleverly interspersed with telling Julie Child’s story, played stunningly well by Meryl Streep. It was an entertaining film, but I still came away from the movie with a poor opinion of French cooking (too many weird things for my taste).

In rebellion against French cuisine, we ended the evening finishing up a gift card to Red Robin, a restaurant that specializes in burgers and fries. It was a fulfilling day.

Mer and I got to see CVCA’s fall theater production, Treasure Island, on Friday the 20th. I am always impressed by CVCA’s theater, and it is much fun to know some of the actors on the stage, and to be part of a community in the audience. Just the experience of being in the theater is pleasant, and that is independent of the play being done.

There are many adaptations of Treasure Island, and the production that the director chose for the students was a very loose adaptation, with a huge cast of characters with many roles for women. It had several tongue-in-cheek moments as well, which I think is a wise thing for high school theater,

The set was excellent, as always. Our stage is oddly shaped, like a triangle. The troupe took advantage of this, and decked out (ha!) the stage as the prow of a ship. Granted, the wheel of the ship would have been facing the wrong way (it was facing the audience), but it worked very well. For the first act, they added various objects on the stage to indicate a tavern.

The first act was the main characters looking for a ship and crew, and involved a long flash-back to fill in the details of the story. Once the crew had been signed up with the promise of treasure, the first act ended. The second act took place entirely on the boat, and was full of action – the heroes finding out about the crew’s plan to rebel and take all the treasure, the capture of the protagonist, his release by an insane man who swam over from the island (who had a fully staged fantasy about cheese!), and the ensuing fight to recapture the ship. In my opinion, the first act was a bit slow because things moved more slowly, but the second act was great and moved right along.

I enjoyed seeing the students act. I am biased, but I was especially pleased by two of my Fools (my improv group). One played the insane man, and he played a high-energy character that was very physical – nice job. My other student played Long John Silver, and while he is an excellent actor, this was the first time where I thought he became his character (as opposed to playing a character). His Long John Silver shone every time he was on stage. It was great to see him do so well.

The overall cast was immense – there were at least 25 people who appeared on stage. The director did a nice job of sorting them all out on stage so they all had highly visible moments, especially early on when the characters were being introduced.

CVCA’s next production is the spring musical, which this year is going to be Annie. I’m looking forward to it – the CVCA theater is a good organization

Cascade Valley – Saturday, Nov. 14th

Saturday the 14th was a beautiful day, and it was “my” day, so we clearly needed to tromp around one of the excellent area parks. This day, I decided for an ambitious plan, and so we headed out to Cascade Valley Park.

Cascade Valley is on the edge of the Valley (there is only one major valley in Northeast Ohio, so everyone just calls it “the” Valley), and it is a circular trail that has the option to walk all the way down into the Valley, where it joins up with the Towpath trail. This was the longer and more difficult trail, so of course that is the option that I wanted to do.

The initial trail was beautiful. The leaves were down, but the trail staff had blown the leaves off the trail, so there would be no wondering where the trail went this week! Also, it was nice to be able to see the few rocks and roots that were around. There is a special beauty to a large forest with all the leaves down. It is stark, but striking, and you can see a lot more than you normally can. In the case of Cascade Valley, that meant that we could see the other side of the valley in places. We headed along the trail, which decended before too long, and rather steeply. We came to the point where the circular trail diverged from the Valley trail, and so we continued to head down. The Valley extension of the Cascade trail was not so well maintained – all the leaves were still on the trail.

It continued to be a fine hike. We laughed about how we were going to have to tromp all the way back up to the car. I expect Mer was laughing through a little worry, but she is a game soul. We stumbled across some very cool plants that still had all of their leaves, and they were all green. It was a moment right out of a fantasy film – everything around was grey and dead looking, and here was one tree-shrub that was still vibrant. Very neat.

We got all the way down to the Towpath, where I confidently struck out going right. I wanted to get to some restaurants in the Valley, and I was pretty sure they were in the direction I was going. After about a third of a mile, I was not so sure anymore, so we went back and I consulted a map on the trail. We struck out going back the same direction, and after about a half a mile, I could see some buildings that did not look right. We turned around and I confidently headed back in the other direction, passing the trail head where we had come out. After an additional half mile or so, we came up on Big Bend trailhead, which is next to the Towpath, and in the wrong direction. Ooops. We turned around and walked the full mile back into the area we had been aiming at the first two times.

Once we actually did get into the right area, we headed over to the Valley Cafe, which is a very pleasant little restaurant that we have been to from time to time. I was delighted that the menu was advertising whoopie pies, a dessert that I grew up with in Maine. The hostess informed us they were “huge.” When we passed them in the display case on the counter, they were about the diameter of a coffee mug. This is not “huge” in my book – I would have classified it as “small.” Anyway, we had a tasty, but whoopie-pie-free, lunch, and headed back along the trail.

The “up” section of the trail was not too strenuous. We took our time, and did not get too winded. We stopped along the second part of the Cascade Valley trail to look at the view over to the far side of the Valley. November was continuing to be the October we did not have, with beautiful sunny days and fairly warm temperatures.

Later that evening, we headed over to visit our friends the Gurnishes. Nate had invited us over for fried turkey, which I had never had before. There were some other people from CVCA there as well (LT Newland, Dubbs, and the Bollenbachers), so it was a festive little crowd. Nate and Rachel (the Gurnishes) are hospitiable folks anyway, but they had tons of food, all of which was available to be dunked in the fryer. I passed on most of the fried vegitables, (although they looked good), and ate a good amount of fried (wild) turkey, which was really tender and tasty. Mer and I had brought bread, so I ate a good amount of Rachel’s homemade jellies with the bread. We sat around a fire and ate and talked and laughed – it was a good time.

We had Friday, November 13th, off from school. It had been a planned in-service day to go over the upcoming J-term plans and to teach some technology sessions to teachers, but it was all set aside because our boys’ soccer team went to the state finals again. This was the third year in a row, and the fifth time in my nine years at CVCA that the program had gone all the way to the state finals. We have a pretty good soccer program.

It was a perfect day – sunny and in the high 50s. Our game started at noon, so we did not have to get up too early to make the two-plus-hour drive to Columbus. The game was once again at Crew Stadium, the home of Columbus’ professional soccer team. It is a nice field and stadium.

CVCA was playing Worthington Christian, so it was an all-private, all-Christian final. That allowed the teams to pray on the field before and after the game, which was nice to see. As far as I can tell, the game was played fairly cleanly; people that I have talked to who actually know soccer agreed.

CVCA looked a little lost for the first 20 minutes or so in the first half. Worthington played much of that time on our end of the field,and even in the final 20 minutes of the half they kept up the pressure. Our guys just did not look so sharp as they usually do – there was some sloppy passing and a few missed assignments. Again, I know almost nothing about soccer, but it seemed as if we were on our heels. I felt as if we were very fortunate to go into halftime at a 0-0 tie.

The halftime motivational must have worked because we came out and played much, much better. From that point on the game was very evenly matched. Worthington went up 1-0 on a strange goal where the goalie got both hands on the ball, but it still somehow slipped through. We came back and scored about 15 minutes later, and the game went into overtime tied at 1-1. Sadly (for our team), Worthington scored on another strange goal where our goalie actually got both hands on the ball, looked as if he cupped it to his chest, and somehow it came out and went in the goal in slow motion. He was very upset, but he had played a great game and, from what I hear, a great season; and he’s only a freshman. Our team rallied around him, and then after a few minutes the two teams shook hands and then prayed together. I’m sad that our team lost, but it was a fine day for soccer. I’m hoping to have another fine day in Crew Stadium next year!

Saturday, November 7th, was a Meredith date-day. We started the day off in a mellow manner, with Mer going off to get her hair cut. She then took me out to lunch, once again trying and failing to eat at Johnny J’s pub. This time, the place was packed for some Saturday college football game, and we could not see anywhere to sit down. So, instead, we ate at a nearby Bruegger’s Bagels. Once fortified, Mer directed me to the west, through the Valley and west of Akron. We ended up in Hinckley.

Hinckley is a nice enough place, which is oddly known for the return of some buzzards every year to the town. Leave it to Ohio to have a famous buzzard town. We were not there for the birds, though – Mer wanted to try a new park. This time, it was the most southern of the Cleveland Metro Parks, the Hinckley Reservation park. I’m not really sure why it is called a reservation; maybe it is because of the lake, which may or may not be a water supply. I do not know.

Nonetheless, after one short wrong turn, we found ourselves at the park. We looked at the map on the bulletin board, and liked the look of a particular trail marked out by a bird symbol. We started walking along a well-kept horse trail, and found our trail head. It was….less taken care of. All the leaves were down, and it was a bit difficult discerning where the trail went. We marched on, and came to a stream where there seamed to be no way of crossing it. We had seen a few blazes marking the trail (which at times was the only way to tell that we were on a trail), so we retraced our steps back to a blaze, and then managed to spot another one. This one led to a small ford to get over the stream, and then led up a very steep, leaf- covered hill. I was having a blast, but I’m afraid Meredith had visions of spending the night in the woods. We got to the ridge and followed a better- looking trail that came out on the horse trail again. We verified from another hiker that we were headed back to the parking lot, and when we got there, we checked the map again. It turns out the “trail” we were on on top of the ridge was not on the map at all – we had turned the wrong way onto an unmarked trail. Ooops. It all turned out well. We’ll have to check out the real trail when the leaves are back on the trees so we can actually see the path.

Since we still had some daylight left, we drove the short distance over to the lake. It is held artificially high by a dam, which is what makes me think it might be drinking water. Anyway, it had a wide path all the way around the  lake, so we walked it about one third of the way around and turned back. I wanted to go all the way around, but it was Mer’s day, and it turned out she was the wiser one. By the time we got back to the car, it was quite dark. It still had been a lovely walk. We even came back to the area the next day (Sunday) to hike along some of the ledges in the area that border a (the?) valley. We also tried to hike the trail on the other side of the lake, but could not find it (there was a private residence in the way, and we could not find a way around the house).

We headed home, where we curled up on the couch and watched the modern (Leonardo DiCaprio) version of Romeo and Juliet. It was okay – parts of it worked really well (I really liked Romeo and Juliet talking to each other after they accidentally fall into the pool – it is beautifully shot), and other parts of it did not work so well (some of the settings strained to fit the dialogue). For whatever reason, I always feel that Romeo and Juliet is about 15 minutes too long – I get restless toward the end of the play; I do not know why. Happily, our day and evening went better than the story of the star-crossed lovers.

This year we were blessed to have some friends give us season tickets to our favorite theater, Actors’ Summit Theater in Hudson. We were not in a position to buy them ourselves this year, but we are now able to continue a tradition that is now in its sixth season for us (I believe).

On Thursday, Nov. 5th, we went to see the opening night of For Better. Neither of us had ever heard of it, and with good reason – it is a very new play by a Cleveland-area playwright. The play explores (through near-farce) the dangers and complications of modern cell-phone/internet-dominated lives.

I enjoyed the play very much – I laughed through much of it, and there was one scene where two drunken friends were discussing women that was very funny. The characters were not deep, and the play did not radically change my outlook on life, or even give me much to think about (except to be very happy I am not a cell phone addict), but it was highly entertaining. The scenes were tightly choreographed as multiple actors carried on multiple cell phone conversations with each other. It worked very well.

One of the things I love about going to the same theater over and over is getting to know the actors. I think the actors at Actors’ Summit are quite good, and the core actors are very strong. This play had a couple of new actors in it, and they did a nice job. One of my favorite actors, Sally Groth, was in this play, and I believe it is the first time I have ever seen her in a comedy. She is a very intense dramatic actor, so I was curious to see how she would do. She did well, but was more or less the “straight man” in the play, so I do not feel I have really seen her in a comedic role yet.

The biggest negative of the night was after the play, in the car, Meredith reminded me that we had to go to work the next day. I’m so used to going to plays on Friday or Saturday that I had forgotten that it was only Thursday.

Halloween day was “my day,” meaning I was in charge. I don’t always plan these things out too far in advance, and so this Saturday morning found me looking online at our favorite cheap movie theater. A movie called The Time Traveler’s Wife caught my attention. I knew nothing about it, but clicked on it and read the tag line. It seemed interesting enough to risk $2.50 on, so the early afternoon entertainment was set.

The Time Traveler’s Wife was a story about a man who could jump around in time, but he had no control over it. He does meet a girl (several times throughout her lifetime, in fact), and they do get married. The movie follows the courtship and married life of the two, and while the story follows the time traveler for much of the movie, the film did a nice job of showing you the wife he inadvertently leaves behind. As a bonus, the movie was filmed in Chicago, where we used to live. Mer and I both found the movie thoughtful and liked it very much – highly recommended.

Later in the day, we decided to go pick up pumpkins and then go out for a walk at the Ledges park. Every year that we have been married, as well as for a few years before that, Mer and I have carved pumpkins. It is our oldest tradition, with the only other one that we even have being having a Christmas tree every year that we have been married.Once we had picked out the on-sale pumpkins (score for the procrastinators!), we headed over to the Ledges, where the view was very pretty, but the wind was very cold. We did not stay long. We went home and dropped off our pumpkins.

Eating out seemed like a good idea, so we headed to the Valley to go to the pub where we had the $6.00 worth of coupons (from the playbill from the week before).

Point of interest: if you are teetotalers, you may want to avoid a pub/bar on Halloween. Clue one – you pull up to the strip that has the bar, and it has a sign up that reads, “Six great bars, one great party!” Clue two – as you get out of the car, a tour bus (yes, a tour bus!) pulls up and disgorges soon-to-be-disgorging revelers in full costume. Clue three – as you walk up to the door, you see through the glass two women going into the bathroom, presumably looking for the rest of their costumes. Clue four – as you get back in to the car to quickly leave, you are passed by a “police woman” in a miniskirt carrying real handcuffs.

I ended up driving through the Valley to get to the west side of Akron, where we had a much quieter meal at the Macaroni Grill, a restaurant where we had a gift card to. We both ate too much (the bread is wonderful), and were able to come home happy and with a half pizza each.

Once home, I prepared the pumpkins for carving. Mer always has a ton of grading to do, so I scoop all the seeds and stuff out of the pumpkins for her, so she can concentrate on being creative. I was not feeling too inspired this year, so I carved a candle. After the fact, I wish I had carved a pumpkin inside of a candle. Ah well. Mer’s pumpkin was much better than mine. Our cat Emma has a bunch of mats on her back that make her fur stand up. We have jokingly called her “stegosaurus kitty,” so that is what Mer carved this year. What was cool about our pumpkins is that mine was thin enough so that the whole pumpkin glowed orange; Mer’s allowed enough light through that there was an image of a stego-cat on our ceiling that was kind of eerie to see. The tradition lives on!

As you may know, Mer and I alternate Saturdays as far as who is in charge of the day. We find this makes us actually plan and do things more often than the “what do you want to do today?” method of weekends. Saturday, October 24th, was Mer’s weekend.

I had been given a gift certificate to Bob Evans a while ago, and so Mer started her day out with breakfast at Bob Evans. We are both huge fans of big breakfasts, and so this started the day out right.

Once we got back home, Mer wanted to watch the film version of Henry V with Kenneth Branagh in it. We were pretty pleased that it had a star-studded cast, including a very young Christian Bale (Batman), who was only 15 at the time. The film was quite well done, and I understood it pretty well this time around (I had seen the film, or at least large sections of it, when I was in my early 20s). After the movie, I was looking up historical information to see what the play/film got right and what it exaggerated, when Mer pointed out that we were watching it on the weekend of St. Crispin’s Day (which is October 25th). The major English victory over the French in the play happens on St. Crispin’s Day, so we were pleased to be seeing the film on the right weekend.

To finish off her day, Mer took me to the Akron Weathervane Community Playhouse to see a play that neither of us knew anything about – The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The play is by the same author who wrote Driving Miss Daisy. It turned out to be a play about a Jewish family who lived in the south in the late 1930s. The play looks at how this family was Southern first, and then Jewish. It also examines some of the conflict between European Jews and Russian Jews. It was thoughtful and at times very funny, and I quite liked it.

The Weathervane set was just a dining room and a living room with a front door and a staircase, but that was enough for the play. It never felt limited or crowded; most of the action just takes place in the living room (with a couple of short scenes that were done on small stage thrusts to the far left and right of the main stage). The acting was very fine, with the only negative being accents – some of the actors had trouble staying in character with accents, and some (probably wisely) did not try. It did not take away from the play, at least not to a Northerner like me (it may have driven a real Southerner crazy). It was a good play, and since Mer and I are in education, we got in for half price, which was a bonus. The music before the show and at intermission were all period pieces, so the music was lots of fun swing tunes and the like. As a final treat, the programs had $3 coupons to a local pub that could be used for food, so we had another excuse to go out some other day.

Mer and I flew out to Maine for Gram’s funeral. The flight was generously supplied by Carleton (Gramps), so we were able to make it. We left out of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, and flew to Portland via Washington, D.C. We got in and picked up our rental car and were on the road by about 11:30 or so. Our car was huge – they did not have my economy car in stock, so we got an upgrade. This car was nice – it had satellite radio (all 80s, all the time!), heated seats, heated steering wheel, and electric everything. I almost turned down the wrong way getting on the turnpike because I was trying to find the window control for the toll booth. The tool booth guy looked at me strangely – he probably though I was drunk. Anyway, we did make it safely to Rockland and to Rankin Street by about 1:30 a.m., where we were greeted by Mer’s parents.

Gram’s funeral service was on Thursday, and we were up in time to be ready for it. The service was held in Gram and Gramp’s church, the First Baptist Church of Rockland. I have always liked this church, and I was glad the funeral could be held there. Leona had organized the service before she died, so it was special because it honored her and her wishes. We opened by singing “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” Then Dale (Mer’s dad) read 1 Corinthians 15:42-58:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I have always loved the “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – wonderful verses at all times, but very appropriate at a funeral. Logan and Kasey, the great-grandsons, then read Philippians 3:20-21 and 1 John 3:2-3:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

At this point, Meredith and I were supposed to sing a duet of a modern hymn, “The Holy Heart.” It is a very pretty hymn, and on good days I can actually sing it fairly well with Meredith doing harmony. On this day, however, I was still recovering from a long cold, and my voice was shot. As a compromise, I read the hymn’s words so that people could understand the hymn better, and then Meredith played it on piano and sang it as a solo. (I think she did a wonderful job, but I am biased.)

Dale then got back up to read an excerpt from a sermon by Spurgeon (a 19th-century British preacher). Dale has a wonderful voice for reading. The basic gist (as far as I remember a month later) was that we are foolish to wish for our loved ones back when they have have died trusting in Jesus and have gone to Him. Since our loved ones are in the presence of God and free from all sickness and sadness, it is foolish (in the big picture) to want them back here on Earth.

We then sang “What a Day That Will Be,” and Pastor Gabe (Gram and Gramp’s pastor) got up to give a homily (a short sermon). He talked about Leona’s life and how she had served at the church and had been a constant encouragement to him. He said Leona always encouraged him to preach the truth of the Gospel, even when it was hard, and he had appreciated it. He talked about how she faced her cancer with strength and confidence, knowing that Jesus would not leave her. He did admit there were some times of Gram being scared, but that her eyes never lost their hope. He also relayed how she insisted that he preach the Gospel at her funeral, and that nothing would make her happier than if some people trusted in Jesus as a result. I have liked Pastor Gabe from the first time I heard him; he is open and honest and sticks to what the Bible has to say as best as he understands it. He did very well this day.

Before I forget to include it, Gram’s favorite verse was printed in the order of worship. It is Isaiah 41:10:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

We finished the service with the hymn “Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand” and then we (the family) went to make a receiving line. The church was full, even on a Thursday afternoon. Gram was well loved, indeed. Mer and I stood and shook hands (some people refrained from shaking my recently sick hand), and tried to be polite and appreciative of people we had never met. The people were very kind. One lighthearted moment that I took delight in, even on this occasion:  one very kind man told Meredith in a well-intentioned way, “You have a lovely voice and sang beautifully. Thank you for adding to this sad day.”

Once just the family was left, the funeral director opened the casket one more time for the family to see Leona. She looked as good as any body I have ever seen in a casket, but Mer and I both agree that when you see dead people, they are not really there. The real them is gone, and just the shell is left, and it does not look quite right. This is not really surprising since the soul and spirit have gone on, but it always catches me slightly off-guard. We both much preferred the portrait that was made from a photograph of Gram – it looked like the real her, with life and spark in the eyes.

We then moved the casket to the hearse for the drive to the graveyard. I was honored to be a pallbearer. There were no issues getting the coffin into the car, and we all lined up and made the short drive to the Rockland cemetery. I did have a little trouble in helping with the casket at the gravesite. We had to walk it past the open grave, and my side was very narrow and was not level. I’m afraid I stumbled a bit, but the coffin was in place, so I was able to help ease it on to the supports without falling in to the hole myself.

Pastor Gabe then prayed, and we stood for a short while. The cemetery is located in a beautiful setting, right at the foot of some small mountains, with lots of trees around. The day was cold and windy and cloudy, but that was all right; it would be a bit strange to bury a loved one on a sunny and warm day.

We then headed back to Rankin Street, where Mer and Carlene and Dale laid out some finger foods, and some others in the family brought along some food as well. I grabbed a quick bite to eat, but then excused myself. Between the really late night and the illness I was almost over, I was very tired. So, I went upstairs to my room and slept.

Mer made sure I was awake in time for the whole family going to a nearby restaurant, the Offshore. We had a semi-private dining area, and the tables were pushed together, so it held all 20 (or so) of us. I think it was good to gather as a group and eat together. While not an inappropriately rollicking time, we had a nice time, and it is my hope that it helped Gramps to be surrounded by that many people who love him.

The next couple of days were low-key. On Friday, Mer and I wandered over to Bricks, a local restaurant, to get some lunch. We where about halfway though when Dale, Carlene, and Carleton walked it. It was not planned, but it was a happy thing to happen. We grabbed some more chairs, and all sat together. The woman who owned the restaurant saw Carleton, and, knowing Leona had recently died, hugged him, her eyes welling with tears.  At another restaurant the next day, a server asked where Leona was. Carleton explained with a simple “She’s gone,” and the woman gasped and apologized profusely. Carleton and Leona liked to go to the same several eateries, and got to know the people that worked there. I’m afraid these kinds of encounters probably happened to Gramps several more times after we left.

Mer and I walked around Rockland, as we always do when we are there. It is a very pretty oceanside town, and we love to walk the main street. After our stroll, we went home and got the car and made our way to visit Gram’s grave. It was pretty amazing – everything was perfect. The grass was all in place, and you could never tell that Gram had been laid to rest just the day before. This day was very sunny and pretty, so Mer and I wandered around looking at tombstones. We discovered that people in Rockland die early (in their 30s or 40s) or late (80s or later).

Saturday, no one had plans for the morning, so Mer and I arranged to meet my dad in Augusta, at the Augusta House of Pancakes. It turns out Dad and we were both sitting in the parking lot for 15 minutes or so, because we were on opposite sides of the lot, but we met up at last in the restaurant. We had a tasty breakfast, and got to visit with Dad for over an hour. I wish Kellee had been able to come, but she works Saturdays. We did not get to see Jeremy, either – he got a place a few months back. We just did not have time to see folks from my neck of the woods, but I am grateful that we were able to eat with Dad. That meant much to me.

Back in Rockland, Dale and Carlene and Gramps and I and Mer piled in Dale’s rented mini-van (which he was concerned I would not ride in because he thought it was an SUV), and Mer’s cousin and her family went ahead of us, and we headed out to the Owl’s Head General Store. The Store really is just a small general store, but they have a very small restaurant which makes wonderful hamburgers. We managed to get all nine of us at one table, and we had a very good lunch, as well as getting to chat.

Later in the evening, I was feeling peckish, so Mer and I went to the Rockland Cafe for a light(er) supper. And yes, we did pick up some whoopie pies for dessert. It turns out the Rockland Cafe has some very good whoopie pies. We split four over two days, which is pretty restrained for us.

Mer and Dale and Carlene went out that evening to see Julie and Julia, a movie about Julia Child and a writer who was making all the recipes in Julia’s cookbook. They enjoyed it. I stayed home, and Gramps and I talked for over two hours at the kitchen table. We talked for a long time about Carleton’s 30+ years working for Central Maine Power and how he came to retire slightly early (they bought him out). After awhile, we talked some about Gram. Gramps told me how it was the hardest thing he has ever gone through (and keep in mind that he served in the Pacific in World War 2). We talked about how wonderful Gram was, and how they had always planned on Carelton going first (he is two years older and suffers from bronchitis). Gramps said he is staying in the house, and I support him in this. I was honored that Gramps talked with me for so long. I hope I was able to help him a little just by listening. He is a good and great man – I want him to be as well as he can be.

I finally had to go to bed, and Mer came home shortly after. We grabbed about two hours’ sleep, and we were up at 1:30 or so. We had to get to Portland and return the car and get to the gate for a 6:00 flight. We had no trouble getting back to Pittsburgh, and the two-hour drive home was a bit sleepy, but without incident. We got home early in the afternoon, and we both took long naps. It was good to be home in Maine again, but I am sorry for the occasion. I’ll miss Gram, and Rockland won’t quite be the same anymore.

On Friday, October 9th, 2009, Meredith’s Mom called and left a message on our machine saying that Leona was not doing very well and would probably pass away in a day or two. She called back a couple of hours later to tell us that Leona had died, peacefully at home.

I not only loved Leona, I liked her. I met Leona (and Carleton) back in the summer of 1994 when I was visiting Meredith. I do not remember much of those visits – I had eyes mostly for Meredith, but for some reason Carleton and Leona liked me; I can only imagine that my Maine heritage helped. I have enjoyed spending time with Gram and Gramps ever since. I last got to see Gram in August of 2008, so I got to enjoy her company on and off for 14 years. It was a privilege, and too short.

Gram was sassy with me, and I loved it. She loved to give me grief, and I loved giving it back. Leona had a small whiteboard on her refrigerator, and I would write limericks on it that teased Gram about her lack of skills in Skip-bo (a card game we played). The next morning when I got up, she would have replaced it with her own limerick that teased me and my Skip-bo playing.

Gram and I called each other dea-ah (dear, with a Maine accent). It was a familiar nod to our both being Mainers, and it was much fun. Usually, dea-ah was followed by some gentle sparring, usually about Skip-bo. Gram and I used to trade a stuffed skunk back and forth during our stays in Rockland. The skunk symbolized getting “skunked” in Skip-bo (getting beaten without winning a game all evening), and the skunk moved about from room to room as we maneuvered to find new places for him. Gram got me good last summer by having Meredith sneak him into my luggage. (As an aside, I decided to take the skunk along on trips and to photograph him for Gram. He’s been to Alabama and to London, but I never got to let Gram know that.)

Gram loved to give me grief, but she was also very kind to me. More than once, she did my laundry or ironed my clothes, even though I never asked her to. She would make me hot chocolate from time to time, and often asked after me to make sure I had things to eat (since I am fussy).

Gram and Gramps loved each other, and it was so obvious. They loved to have battles of wits, and to give each other a hard time, but it was always with a smile. I very much want to be like Gram and Gramps when (and if) I get to be in my 70s and 80s with Meredith.

Gram actually liked it when I would bring my guitar along to Rockland. I have no great talent on the instrument, but Gram and Gramps and Mer and I would sit around and sing hymns together on some visits, and that was special. They never cared if I messed up on a song – Gram and Gramps just liked singing with us. It was nice.

Gram was always welcoming to anyone we brought along to the house. We have had several friends and my brother and his wife visit the Wooster home in Rockland. They were introduced to the magic of Skip-bo, and to the magic of Leona and Carleton. Shannon, Jo, and our other friends who met Leona have a small understanding of how special the kitchen on Rankin Street was.

Leona and Carleton came out to our wedding when they were in their 70s, and they drove to Chicago from Maine to be there. They also came and visited us in our Ohio home when they were in their late 70s, again driving from Maine. They wanted to be a part of our lives, and they succeeded.

I’m sure Gram was not perfect, but she was very special to me (and to Meredith). Visits to Rockland were an escape to a home where we were welcome and loved and we could just rest and relax in that place. Rockland is still special because Gramps is still there, but the love is a little less now with Gram gone. She was a great lady. I will miss her.

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Here is the obituary that was printed in the papers and online:

ROCKLAND – Leona A. Wooster. 84, died Friday, October 9, 2009, at her home. Born in Rockland, March 23, 1925, she was the daughter of Ephraim and Carrie Lothrop.

She was educated in Rockland schools, attending Oak Grove School, Tyler School, McLain School, Rockland Junior High School and Rockland High School.

She worked at the former Newberry’s, Rockland Wholesale Grocery and raised poultry for several companies.

At a young age she attended Littlefield Memorial Baptist Church, where she later became a believer in Christ, was baptized, and joined that church. In 1951 she transferred her membership to the First Baptist Church of Rockland, where her husband, Carleton, was a member. She remained an active member there the rest of her life, teaching Sunday school for many years and serving as Superintendent of the Junior and Primary departments. She also served many years as a Deaconess and as a leader in the Pioneer Girls.

Special joys in the last several years of her life were her great-grandchildren, Logan and Kasey Grubbs. Along with her husband, she cared for them much of the time while their parents were going to school or working. A recent joy was the birth of a great-granddaughter Paisley Leona Hayslip, born on August 31, 2009, with her middle name honoring her great-grandmother.

She enjoyed a longtime special friendship with Marjorie Bickmore of Rockland.

She was pre-deceased by her parents; two brothers Lewis Hadley, Ephraim Lothrop, Jr.; two sisters, Minnie Bunker, Effie Hupper; brother-in-law Milton Wooster; sister-in-law Barbara Wooster; and a nephew Danny Wooster. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Carleton of Rockland; one daughter, Carlene King and her husband Dale, of Casselberry, FL; one son, Raymond Wooster and his partner Brenda Harrington, of Spruce Head; three granddaughters, Dana Grubbs and her husband Dale of Thomaston, Meredith Riordan and her husband Matthew of Ohio, Tracy Hayslip and her husband Jon of Northport; three great-grandchildren, Logan Grubbs, Kasey Grubbs, Paisley Leona Hayslip; a brother-in-law Ervin Wooster of Rockland; a sister-in-law Shirley Wooster of Thomaston; nieces and nephews including Gail Jones, Glenn Wooster, Dennis Wooster, David Wooster, Doreen Genthner and Randall Hadley; as well as several others not located in this area.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, October 15, 2009, at First Baptist Church, 215 Limerock Street, Rockland. The Reverend Gabriel Rogers will officiate. Interment will be in Achorn Cemetery Rockland.

Those who wish may make memorial contributions to First Baptist Church of Rockland, 215 Limerock Street, Rockland, ME. 04841 or Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care & Hospice, 170 Pleasant Street, Rockland, ME 04841.