Mer and I were pleased to get an invitation to a party hosted by Linda Rocha, who has worked out in the CVCA guidance department for about twenty-five years. The party was to be at her house, up in eastern Cleveland, and it took place on Saturday afternoon.
Mer and I found the house with no problems, thanks to our GPS. Linda and Bill’s house is in a middle-class neighborhood of close-set homes. The house was cute and well maintained, but it was small across the front, so I was wondering how crowded the party was going to be, especially since it was a cool and cloudy day, so eating al fresco might not be a great option.
I need not have worried. Linda’s husband, Bill, is a mason by trade and can build just about anything. Bill had added an entire wing onto the back of the house, which included a huge dining area that could have seated thirty people comfortably. Linda had some of her family there, as well as her closest CVCA friends, including my colleague Phil and his wife. In all, counting a bunch of kids, there probably were about thirty people there. Linda and Bill had laid out a huge spread of rather wonderful looking food, to which I added my chocolate chocolate chip cookies.
Phil and Laurie made room for us at the end of their table, and we had a good visit with them while eating too much food. Laurie had brought a huge Texas sheet cake, which I went back for thirds on, and Linda had provided a couple of small M and M cakes, which were quite good. We stayed for about two hours before we headed homeward. It was a good gathering.
On the way home, we went through the Valley as a change of scene from the highway. We stopped off at the covered bridge on Everett Road. I had never been there before, and in addition to the place being pretty, there were several placards giving the history of how the Cuyahoga Valley National Park was set aside as a park; the movement was spearheaded by a couple of area congressmen, and gained popular support in the late sixties and seventies. I am deeply grateful that the Valley still exists as a park; it makes living in NE Ohio special and relaxing.
Linda’s party was followed by another one on Sunday, and a party that was unique to us so far in our lives. We go to a ton of CVCA graduation parties during the summer, but this was the first one-year-later party we had ever been to. One of Mer’s former students, Sam, wanted to throw a party so he could see his CVCA friends, and he invited us. I like Sam, and I now have his bother Haydn in my CVCA Connections group, so I was excited to go.
The party was in Sam’s back yard, which is narrow and overlooks a steep drop down a tree-encrusted hill. It is very peaceful and beautiful. Sam was manning the grill, turning out chicken kabobs, and there were lots of chips and other finger foods. I had brought my cookies as my contribution, and Sam’s parents later unveiled a sundae bar. Dubbs showed up, and our former student Faith, and several others who were or had been Mer’s students. It was a merry little gathering, and we stayed for about three hours before heading home, well fed on yet another weekend.