I left Westminster in the morning headed to Wheaton with the idea that I would swing through Sykesville to visit A Likely Story, a book store recommended to my by friends at the Historical Society. I picked up several novels by Louise Penny and two Michael Connelly novels, then continued my journey to Wheaton to visit old friends Peggy Podolak and Jock Jerrett.
I arrived at their home in Wheaton and knocked on the door a couple of times, but no response, so I sat on their porch swing until the door opened. A nurse exited and I entered; they hadn’t heard the knock because a nurse was attending to Jock, who suffers from MS. He was recently hospitalized and his confinement has caused some problems to which the nurse attended. While Jock is dependent on others for nearly everything, he is still lively and his mind is as sharp as ever. It is always a joy to spend time with them both. Peggy and I have known each other since I moved back to DC in 1987 to spend a year working at the Department of Energy. She was the best contractor I ever dealt with at DOE.
After a night with Peggy and Jock, I drove over to Herndon to visit with my brother John and his wife, Marcia. Brood X 17-year cicadas are out this year and in Herndon were even louder than in Wheaton. We ate dinner outside, under their umbrella and were constantly interrupted by cicadas landing on us or crawling up our clothes. While cicadas look fearsome, they are harmless. Because of a kidney transplant, my brother is severely immune-system suppressed. Understandably, Marcia is concerned that exposure to Covids-19 would be devastating to John, so insists on social distancing and masks indoors. We mostly complied, but it is sometimes difficult to talk through a mask. While watching the Nats play, a thunder storm came through, ending the game for the night. The next morning, after breakfast, I headed into Arlington to visit with Bob and Gail Knetl.
We’ve known each other since our (now over 50) daughters were in second grade. So we had a lot of catching up to do. When I got there I decided I needed a shower before we went out to dinner, so took one; should have jumped into the shower after I took off my hearing aids, but caught that mishap immediately and took them out. When I put them back on, after drying off and dressing, the left one didn’t work. I asked Bob where the nearest Costco was (he also purchased his hearing aids there), but he discouraged me from trying to go to the one in Chrystal City, the closest. He said it was really difficult to get an appointment, and that the appointment was needed. So that night and the next day, I managed with one. Then we went out to dinner at a Thai place, and their daughter Anna joined us. So I got to see her as well. They are, like me, retired, but very active. Bob’s family is from Croatia, via Chicago, and they frequently make trips to that part of Europe. We could spend days together and not get fully caught up. The second night we ate steak at home, then watched a movie about Axis Sally before bed. The next morning after breakfast, I headed off to Charlottesville.
My nephew, John Tordoff, lives in Charlottesville, and his parents, Dani and Michael were visiting there as part of our plan to get together while on this trip. For those who don’t know, Dani is my sister-in-law and spent some of her growing-up in our house. We agreed to meet at Burton’s, a restaurant on the main drag, but I had difficulty finding it. Finally pulled out my phone and figured out how to get there for a late lunch. Afterwards, Dani and I went to the Costco nearby and the service was exceptionally: they cleaned both my hearing aids and got the left one to work again, and showed me how to fix things myself, if it happened again. They did this despite not being able to find me in their data base. After, we stopped at Trader Joe’s and I picked up a six-pack of beer to take to John’s condo where I stayed.
We all went out to breakfast the next morning, then returned to rest before out trip to Monticello to tour the house and grounds of our third president, Thomas Jefferson. I have been before, but years ago. The tour made me realized what a genius he was. After, we returned to our respective residences and rested before Dani and Mike showed up at John’s to fix us a nice chicken and salad for dinner.
I met John’s friend, McCall, who works for the UN and is currently assigned to a post in South Sudan as a lawyer. I learned a great deal from her about the situation in South Sudan while at the dinner table over two nights. Sorry I couldn’t hang out to for the Memorial picnic. Instead, on Monday, Memorial Day, I got up, had coffee, worked on this blog, ate, then hit the road.
Drove 654 miles, 600 of them planned, and will drive to Oskaloosa, IA, tomorrow.