The students who graduated last May are starting to gear up to go to college. A couple of them made an effort to look me up before they went, which made me feel pretty special. On Wednesday, Ben, who worked for me this summer, came over to play the Wii version of Super Mario Brothers. I had played Super Mario Brothers when I was in college back in the early 1990s, but Mer had never played. It was much fun watching her play. She did quite well for a first-time player, but the real joy was hearing her cry out when bad guys came close. It was a sociable time, as all three of us could play at the same time. Ben clearly was the best of the three of us; I have lost any touch I might have had. It was a great time nonetheless.

On Thursday, I drove up to Hudson to meet one of my CVCA Connections guys, Nate. We met up at Cold Stone Creamery, where we munched on ice cream outside while we talked. We both wanted to keep talking after we were done eating, but I don’t like sitting around, as most restaurant seats get uncomfortable after about forty-five minutes. So, we took to our feet and walked all over Hudson, walking out of the new shopping square, past the library, back into the residential areas, into the old town square, down the main street and back to Cold Stone. It was a great visit. We said goodbye, and I dashed into Cold Stone to pick up an ice cream cake for me and Mer, since she had not had any ice cream. It turns out that the cakes are quite expensive, and while quite good, not twice as good as the bigger Dairy Queen cakes, which cost half as much. Mind you, we still enjoyed it.

Here’s to Ben and Nate! I hope and pray they have great college experiences!