Author: alohawild

Going backward, I was home from First United Methodist Church at 9ish. Gaming had gone sideways, so I spent the evening chatting with Shawn about Dungeons and Dragons. We have both been playing for years. I also spoke to Andrew about his upcoming honeymoon in Florance, Italy, and his job as a Federal employee. They were good talks. There was also a thought to plan a gaming night for the other choir members. I think there will be more on that after May.

Before this, I had stopped at Guardian Games Aloha (formally, Rainy Day Games) and found an old friend still working there. We talked about the games we have played. I was there for Army Painter’s Blue Tone ink to paint water on the 1/6000 scale ship models. I painted the sea blue (Wolf Grey), brushed on some white for foam, and then covered that with a Blue Tone to darken the blue and make it look more like the sea and 3D. I saw a few new items but left with just the Blue Tone.

Moving back to an early dinner, I roused Corwin and headed out for food. Air Volvo took us a few minutes to the Aloha Food Carts. Corwin had been doing Uber Food deliveries today to earn money, and he made one delivery from the same carts. Corwin said it was hard to find if you did not know it existed.

We got two three veggie-only curries from the cart called Chaat House. We had chai to go with dinner. The wind picked up, and rain pelted the tent with the food tables. I had my coat but forgot my hat–I was cold, but the food and chai warmed me. Eating outside under a tent and being pelted by sideway rain might be taking the Oregon thing a bit far, but still, I told the gal at Chaat House, “If you don’t love rain, you can’t live in Oregon,” which I believe is true. What rain?

Before this, I used my tiny (one called insane detail by Army Painter) and best paint brush to bring color to the tiny-scale ship models mentioned above. I used Uniform Grey for the hull, stacks, guns, and other structures, Mummy Robes (a very light brown) for the decks, and Black for the top of the funnels. I painted the seas blue and white, as I mentioned earlier. I had to let this dry. You cannot use the Army Painter Tones unless the paint is quite dry (it will dissolve any freshly dried paint).

Later, I could not sleep, so I sat down and carefully painted the ship with a Dark Tone as a wash to bring out the tiny ship’s 3D lines. I had done the Blue Tone before going to bed. All this needs a few hours, at least, to dry before being handled. They look good, and I will finish them soon with flags and names pasted on the models.

Before this, I spent hours on paperwork. With my surgery approaching (May 20th) and Susie’s Concert done in Oregon, it is time to prepare the paperwork. I spent hours writing up all the accounts I use for handling money, paying bills, and running the financial part of my life. It took hours as I found account numbers and checked passwords, PIN numbers, and beneficiaries for my monied accounts. I recorded it in a Word document, despite all of my security Spider-man senses saying “no” to using an unsecured document for this. It needs to be simple if bad things happen to me, so I accepted the risk.

I also found the official birth certificates, marriage license (Susie and I called it The Cow, as the seal has a huge cow), and other essential documents. I already had my lawyer update my will and provide proper, signed, and notarized Power of Attorney and Oregon Advance Directives forms. I located my leather briefcase and will fill it with these papers and other essential items. This will be given to Dondrea before my surgery. If I head to the great gamers in the sky, this goes to Matt V.

While depressing and taking hours, it is best to plan for emergencies, and the best way to prevent them is to plan if they will happen. Or, to remember another moment from a John Wick movie, “Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum,” which, when translated into English, means “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War.”

I slept into 8ish and rose feeling rested—for the first time in weeks. I made the last of the liberal Equal Exchange coffee in the French Press. I ordered a new case, and it arrived today. The Kramer sent more good coffee, and I will use that starting Thursday; thanks. I also had a bagel with cream cheese from my NYC supplies stocked by the Smiths and Joyce; thanks.

Lunch worked somewhere above between things, and it was cottage cheese and a 1/2 can of peaches.

Leaving this for last, last night, the grief and anger surfaced again. It circled like a dream-shark and bit hard repeatedly. Tears. I painted. I ordered some rules on Amazon for WWI tabletop ship models. I am better this Thursday morning. I was warned that grief was a thief. Facing the surgery adds to this pain. Sucks.

I included that bit, not asking for help or sympathy, but to be true, and this blog is about my experiences.

Thanks for reading.

I am writing this Wednesday morning. I am feeling better, and I have been very thoughtful about my bottom, and the soreness is fading. I slept into 8:15 as I was enjoying just sleeping today.

Tuesday (yesterday) started with me raising 7ish, starting the blog writing for Monday, finding liberal coffee, and making a NYC  bagel, plain, with cream cheese. I enjoyed the writing and likely wondered a bit. I am feeling better and decompressing.

I had a box of potato pancake mix; I just added water and minced onions from King Arthur Flour, which I found when committing insecticide in the pantry. I found the Duck Fat (it is a John Wick movie thing) and added that to a non-stick pan (a gift from Steve). I used up all the mix and saved some potato pancakes for later. They were OK–it is pretty plain food. I had it with some ricotta cheese (I was out of sour cream). It was a good lunch.

I wanted to build some models or at least paint some items, so I needed to find the table in the fireside room in the house. It was buried under papers and the jetsam flotsam of my recent trips. I put all the recipes in the office box of papers to be filed. I threw away the stuff I would not need again but kept the maps for Texas and Louisiana. I find it hard to throw away maps. I trashed useless plastic paint holders and carried out recycling items twice. While not as clear as I wanted, I could return the table to usable.

I have some 1/6000 WW1 and WW2 naval ship models for tabletop gaming. They are not inexpensive, as they are a low-volume purchase (once you have them, you don’t need them again); these are only about an inch long, including the base, and are easy to paint. This scale is easy to store. I paste the flag of the nationality (Germany’s WW1 flag is white) on the base (there is a space for it) and also paste the name on the underside. Today, I glued the ships to their bases and primed them. I have stopped using spray primer for some small metal models. I instead hand-painted a water-soluble primer all over the models, creating a small but helpful coat for the paint to bite into. It dries fast, so I am not breathing in paint overspray, and the coating is so light that I don’t lose any details.

I managed to assemble some recently purchased WWI ships for the Falklands Battle (WWI). I also have new rules for another famous WWI battle, Dogger Bank, and most figures. I hope to use them someday. Again, they are easy to store, as all the figures fit in one drawer in my figure case.

After that, I found my time was running out, and I headed to Dondrea’s and Z’s house. We plan to play Stroganov (spelled differently than the food), and Dondrea was excited to make her special meal of the same name. I arrived at 5:30, and Dondrea had already finished most of the cooking. We shared the meal with Dondrea, Z, and me.

Dondrea, not one of our gamers, was initially put off by the board game’s complexity and process. Z, who often plays with me, soon got it and would win with a near-crushing score. I continued to walk everyone through the process and advised them on making score-improving moves. I came in last and should have followed my advice, but teaching and winning simultaneously is tricky.

I described the game in the previous post, so I will not go into detail now. Once they understood the processes, Z and Dondrea really liked the game. The game has enough resources on the board that it does not feel like a mean game (where every move removes options from the other players). With one advance action a turn for free, you get to do all the fun things every turn. There are no hidden items, so you can plan your turn during another player’s turn with a small risk of disturbing your plans. We all liked the idea in this game that the meeple furthest into Siberia became the first player.

I observed that the furs soon became only available in the further lands, as we had already harvested the easy ones—realistic. This also meant you could cheaply buy land as an advanced action near the start of the lands—you don’t have to pay for the furs yet to be harvested when purchasing the land. Soon, we had a land grab going. Z noticed that buying land was the fastest way to make points.

The favors from the Tsar give you only a few points but give you superpowers. Soon, Dondrea was a hunting machine. Z concentrated on lands and yurts and won. I was last, having tried everything to learn the game better. It was fun.

Z, blue, with the win! Dondrea was red, and me at the bottom was yellow.

I’m sorry if I focused too much on the game above; it was so fun to play with three players. After that, I headed home. I worked on the 1/6000 ships I mentioned, showered, and got to bed late. I ordered some more WWI ship figures to finish off the chance to play some battles. I slept well with dreams of riding horses and hunting in old Russia.

Thanks for reading.

Going backward, I finally slept before 2AM. I had anal pain from over-pushing on a movement. My colon was revised from cancer so that the top was pulled over and resected to the bottom. This means I am less aware of when I need to make a movement. I was over-enthusiastic yesterday evening and badly bruised the pushing parts. It was hard to sit or to lie down. A lot of aspirin and Tylenol, and let’s call it resting, finally calmed the area so I could sleep. A new issue and one I caused–more care will be used from here out. Ugh!

Yes, this will be a funny story later. But then, breaking my poo-er was not amusing at the time.

Note: As a colon cancer survivor, I have been internally surveyed many times, and there are no known medical issues in this area. I just have to be less enthusiastic.

As I could not sleep and standing was working better, I continued with the laundry and cleaning. I emptied out the ant-visited shelf in the pantry, tossing some expired and questionable items that had been pushed to the back of the shelf. I previously sprinkled that area with hot petter to keep away bugs; I washed the shelf, removed the pepper, lightly sprayed it with Raid, and let it air out overnight. The shelf contains mostly canned goods. I will do the rest of the shelves (less bug spray) over the week.

Corwin was cooking a late dinner, but he had mopped the floors and was getting the dishes put away and dirty ones into the dishwasher. Excellent. Late-night cleaning is acceptable. I sleep now with the “Sleep” station playing on my Echo Amazon device. That and the reduced hearing prevent me from waking. I am conditioned to jump up and help Susie when she calls my name. I used to wake up all night to strange sounds. Showering before sleeping reduces the coughing (removes pollen, and the damp air clears my lungs), and the light music makes sleeping easier.

Corwin 2.0: This was not true of Corwin’s earlier releases, but he cleans up his messes now. I still put dirty laundry in the washer when I noticed the pile in front of it—no problem. Corwin 2.0 is easier to live with.

I had a to-do on the water bill. I have little love for the local utility as a broken pipe can get you thousands of dollars in bills instead of informing you of an issue and allowing you to fix it before they bill you for two months for a break–at the full rate! With my surgery coming in May, this is the last utility bill not automatically paid. Sitting (with care in my office in a nice padded chair), I explored their website and found they have a maximum payment option, setting that to $300, 150% of my usual bill. Another item is done! Ya! Before I trust them,  I will leave paper billing on for a few more billing cycles.

Before this, I tried to sleep, but the butt pain was distracting. Instead, I read the rules of the board game War of the Rings, Second Edition. Evan might want to try the game, and Corwin likes this one too–he beat me twice as the Free Peoples and I playing Sauron. My dying wish as a defeated Sauron was a rematch!

Imagine a giant board that is the map of Tolkien’s Middle Earth covered with figures instead of cardboard wargame pieces. Next, you can play events that match the story within the framework of a vast and quite colorful rule book. That is just the war part. The Ring and the Fellowship exist as figures, cards, tracks, and casualties, and there are rules for the chase to Mount Doom to destroy The Ring. It is nuts, and you roll dice for actions, making for strange plays that fit the book (For example, “Well, I can’t search for The Ring as I did not roll search options, guess time to finish off Gondor”). It is a merger of board gaming, role-playing, and Tolkien. Totally not recommended–unless you love board games and Tolkien. Then it is a must-have seldom played game. I have all the add-ons and 3D-printed visual improvements (some still need to be painted).

Yes, moving backward in the story, I had a tough movement at home, which created the issue. Details will not be listed here. I was unhappy with the results and the process. I will be more gentle in the future. Yikes!

Before this, and when sitting and resting was easier, I was at a local taphouse and food joint, The 649, with Evan. We played the board game Exploding Cats: Good and Evil. This is a silly game where you try not to explode. There is a strategy and luck card game. Evan gave me the little game as an early birthday present (I turn 60 on 16 April 2024). Evan had trouble grasping the silliness and the strategy of making your opponent vulnerable to exploding and forcing them to play extra turns. Evan exploded twice. I had read the rules, and he was still learning.

Before that light game, Evan was a bit overwhelmed by learning two games in one night; we played my new board game acquisition, Stroganov (spelled differently than the food), which I got for 25% off at Guardian Games Aloha (formally, Rainy Day Games). This is a complex resource management and worker placement game from a 2021 Kickstarter, with me owning the plain retail version–cardboard markers instead of terrific pieces ($219 for the deluxe version on Game Steward’s website, I paid just over $30).

Our first game, won by Evan, was sluggish as we learned the rules and started to understand the game instead of just the rules. We also missed that there are two actions, and then you pay for a third, which explained the low scores and the lack of flash as we were playing one less action per play. In the second game, with Evan figuring out the rules issue and what outposts are for, we played a more enjoyable game. In that game, I scored higher as I gathered many resources, such as pelts from hunting in Siberia and visiting yurts. The game is layered but easier than Arc Nova and Weather Machine and closer to the complexity of Scythe. I liked it as it played fast and, compared to the newer complexity-to-the-max Kickstarter games, a quicker teach. There is some competition as the board does not replenish existing lands. This is a game to consider if you want something more accessible and faster while being complex and colorful. It is also cheap, in the basic form. I will likely find some generic metal coins and horse meeples to upgrade the game. I did find stickers for the game. The gaming community does not love the game and now wants more complex games, and thus, this game does not have the upgrade sets you find for more loved games.

Before this, I had lunch, soup, and a taco at the nearby Mexican place Tapatio: Mexican Restaurant. I also had a grilled cheese and split a fondo with Evan. I broke a rule and ordered two lighter beers while gaming. The beer seems to be one of the reasons the pounds won’t come off. Dondrea has said she has the same problem–adult drinks mean no weight loss or worse. But I wanted a break today.

I also stopped by Tammy’s Hobbies and picked up more glue (it ages poorly) and some grey primer. I plan to get to one of my models this week. So far, it’s been a no-go, but there is hope.

On the way to the hobby store, a car blocked Farmington Road. I had to brake, and Air Volvo detected the issue, too, and tightened the seat belt. The computer knows that a sudden braking means a possible rear-ending, and so it prepared me for bad things by strapping me in. I did not get the warning for auto-braking as the Volvo detected I had enough space to stop. It is always reassuring to get a computer-based hug from Air Volvo. No paint loss and I was okay and smiling. The huge pickup truck behind me stopped in time.

Before this, I was talking to the friendly people at the USA Social Security call center on the phone in my office. They checked if I should apply for benefits for Susie’s passing. I could claim, after a lot of work, a few hundred dollars in one-time death payment, but survivor benefits were not available to me. I decided that an appointment and paperwork were not worth the small payment. I also learned that if I applied for benefits at 62, I would get over $2,600 a month in benefits. All interesting and took most of the morning waiting for a callback and writing the Sunday blog.

I rose at 6ish as I wanted to get my staycation going. And that takes us, dear reader, to the start of my day. Thanks for reading!

 

I woke before my alarm at 7:30 and was up about 7, making liberal coffee in the French Press. Soon, I was writing a long blog about Saturday as I watched the backyard witness the sunrise. Writing, I quickly tried to capture Susie’s concert and retirement party events in the blog. I record that I attempted to make the event feel more like a moving-on celebration than a goodbye. I think I was successful at that.

Today, I feel much more at peace, and my grief has changed; the tears still come easy, but the pain is less. It does feel like my life has restarted. It has been over five months since Susie passed.

Lately, I have been eating one piece of toast with reduced-sugar jam in the mornings. I usually do this when I take my meds. Just a few calories, and the taste is excellent. I have some toast to take a break from writing.

The blog was finished at about 9:30 in the morning, and soon, I was washing up. Next is the ritual of the suit. While not “the last suit you will ever wear” from Men in Black, it requires time and care. The suspenders must be put on facing out and over the shoulders without twisting. This attaches to special internal buttons you must request when buying the suit (or later added by good dry cleaners) and optional clips to the pants–I use both. The suspenders are hidden under the vest. Today, I picked the western ruby color. While I am not even close to looking like James West from the series Wild Wild West, I can at least have a cool vest like he had. I add the cheap vest pocket watch with the gold-colored chain. This has to be done after the shirts, ties, and vests are buttoned. Shoes, black plain leather shoes, go over grey socks to match the darkish grey suit. I complete the ritual without too many mistakes.

It is a more typical March day with blue skies and rain, not just mist, but the threats of heavier rain here and there. Thunderstorms would come later in the evening. Before the climate change, we had maybe one thunderstorm in a year. Now, we see them often. I pick the felt brown hat for the rain instead of the black dress hat. It dries out faster.

The church, First United Methodist Church, seemed chaotic today, as the preacher was back, and various folks were missing from illness or the local spring break. Dondrea was looking busy as she and the audio-video folks scrambled. Shawn called out the two-minute warning, which was mostly ignored. Soon, Dondrea walked to the front; you could almost hear the yell, “Places, people,” and the “break-a-leg” in the sudden silence. Singing starts, and folks march with palms. Soon, everyone who can walk marches through the church sanctuary waving palms; it is Palm Sunday. We make four or more circles.

Carson Baily, today’s liturgist, rocks the house by asking everyone to stand and greet people, but soon, the well-oiled Methodist Machine takes over, and we follow the usual program. Dondrea gets us focused again.

It is now Holy Week for Christians (Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday), and the hymns are familiar and easy to sing. Pastor Ken Wystma is back from a working vacation and has decided on a long story for the sermon today; pastors always want to go long on Holy Week. He surprised me by covering Jesus’s entry, remembered on Palm Sunday–we are sticking to Holy Week topics. He covers that Jesus rode a pack animal and/or a small horse–not riding in as a conqueror but as a humble prophet. Ken projects pictures of famous people on horseback, primarily white horses, and shows how these were political or propaganda statements. But Jesus was riding a lesser creature and projected humility. Something we should remember, Ken suggests.

Next, Ken points out that Jesus spends the next few days tossing out the money changers, threatening to destroy the temple (in this case, he was referring to himself), and then cursing a fig tree because it, like the temple, was not producing fruit. Jesus, in Ken’s words, was challenging the officials and pointing out what was not working.

Ken said that on his travels, he witnessed many political statements at the dinner tables, either left or right. The main direction was that everything was failing and worse than it once was in the past. It did not matter the political stance of the speaker–they were sure things were failing. Ken then reminded us that people have been saying this for years. There are scientific polls that show this over the years. But he feared that now many are tempted to do whatever it takes, the ends justifying the means, to save us. Ken said that if Jesus were to address the United States, Jesus would say we are focused on politics and not what is essential. “The Angel of the USA charges that you have forgotten to love each other and are divided. You must repent for the anger, be humble, and find your love for each other.” Echoing the letter of Revelations–my words, not Ken’s.

While an interesting sermon, it did, unsurprisingly, go on for quite some time. Other less patient folks and I think we need to get a red light for Ken after thirty minutes. But, again, it was good.

Soon, it was cookies and coffee. Susie’s concert cookies were served. Everyone loved them.

I left and met Rev Anne and Rev.Dr. Wayne at Olive Garden, and I had spaghetti and meatballs. The salad, as always, was excellent. However, the pasta was overcooked, and the meatball’s flavor was flat. Sad, they used to be the best of the best of Olive Gardens. Their cooks before the pandemic would make everything fresh and with extra hints of flavor here and there. Now, it was more industrial. I have heard the white sauces are still good, and the seafood items are also great. Anne and Wayne were happy with their food.

Anne and I discussed Ken’s sermon, and some of the conclusions above are based on her help. Rev. Anne gave Ken high marks, especially Ken’s placing the problematic story of Jesus and the Fig tree in the context of the passion story. Bravo.

I returned home and managed, after three tries, to get the grey suit to stay on one nice wooden hanger. I switched to more comfortable clothing. My pants are now falling all the time. My weight has not changed, but my shape, let’s call it, has. All that extra me is not in the right places to keep my pants on when I have two phones and a wallet in my pants. I am stubborn, a little bit cheap, and will wait until 240 pounds before considering new or revised clothing options. A silly problem.

I read, did some laundry, and cleaned up the kitchen. Afterward, I headed to Matt V’s house to play Dungeons and Dragons. We have been unable to play for over a month due to various travel and working schedule conflicts. Even then, one of us missed at the last minute. Which solved the issue of who’s character was assassinated. The person who missed character was assassinated. Part of the story today.

I play a lawful (very harsh and organized) and evil (the ends always justify the means), but I am powerful enough to raise the dead. I am also able to create undead. Our good folks’ characters watched my character and ensured I raised the character that died and did not create an undead version of the character. My character was conflicted as the undead would have followed orders better, but the good folks were insistent. As lawful, I am a team player and bow to their wishes. I am a cleric of War and not a nice Tolkien guy. “These dead guys are quite useful,” to paraphrase a dwarf in a famous movie. Maybe next time.

I don’t want to cover too much as this was Matt V’s story, and other groups are playing the same adventure. Our mission today was to slay the last pirate/assassin lord. We hunted down the assassin using various auguries and divination (imagine me as a spinning dervish going into a trance while spinning). Our bard beat the drum while I spun faster and faster. I saw the location of the bad guys in my spinning trance. Yes, it’s a problematic image.

Later, in a more straightforward image to imagine me, I cast various blasting spells in full plate and shield, with various enchantments to make me even more challenging to hurt. Most attacks fail against my armor–even cannon fire. Yes, I am a heavy-armored, blasting War cleric supporting my team. My enemies melt before me. No quarter was expected or given.

We defeated the bad guys and won the day. It was a hard fight. I headed home to start more laundry, do more dishes, and read for a while. I finally shower and sleep. I went to bed early again.

It was a good day of church, lunch, and Lawful Effective (what we call it) gaming. Thanks for reading.

 

I have waited a long time for this day to arrive. Mostly, it went according to plan, and everyone thought it was a great party and remembrance. It was a good day.

I was tired, so I wrote the blog on Sunday morning. I was tired, so I went to bed early and woke up early. I am incapable of sleeping in on most days—there is just so much to do. I finally started at about 6:30, rolling over a few times before that at the dread time of 5:30. Yes, the time change is still not completely accepted.

Returning to Saturday, I rose at 7AM with some anxiety–today was the day, as I said, I had waited months to reach Susie’s Concert. I started on the blog and wrote about Friday. I made coffee, liberal coffee from Equal Exchange, in my French Press. After locating walnut pieces and brown sugar to add to the final product, I cooked steel-cut oats in a pan. The ants are back in the pantry, so I added more ant-poison sugar liquid to a paper plate to feed them again. Sometimes, the ants come back, and you must redo the process to make them disappear.

I wrote a somewhat confused account as my emotions were complex. Time slowed for me as I planned to be at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton after 2PM. I dressed in casual clothing and drove north to some food joints. I was there about 11:30 and too early for Standford’s on a Saturday, so I picked Red Robin.

Today, I needed something that would not make me sick and would provide enough calories to get through this. So a burger and fries with an iced tea seemed the best fit. I was thinking about the concert, and my eyes were filled with tears. The waiter was concerned there was something wrong with the food, which was kind of funny. “No, all is good,” I said, or words to that effect.

I drove back from Red Robin, reading a bit on my Kindle as time seemed to slow today while eating extra fries delivered without request. They are soooo good. I usually have chili or a salad–no fries.

I assembled my suit with the suspenders to keep the pants on. My weight loss has the side effect of making all my pants fall off. I won’t update my garments until I reach my next goal of 240. I have reached 248 so far. I will try not to play gourmet chef this spring break, which is my bad habit when I have more time, but to get more exercise instead. I might bake some scones for the mornings, but I will try to avoid delicious pasta and cheese dishes. I will try to resist. I have stopped looking at the cooking section of the NY Times; resist.

This time, it is the black suit I dawn with a 1980s tie Susie would remember buying in Maryland at some mall in the now long-gone Structure stores. No pocket watch, just the tie and a grey shirt to not contrast too much with the black. When I bought suits last year, I selected black (plus grey and blue) as I knew this day would come someday. Sadly, I got to wear the black suit for another good friend’s funeral first, Cory’s, who passed just a few days before Susie.

Air Volvo was overflowing with boxes and items for the concert. I was there after 2PM in my suit (which meant my pants would stay on besides looking the part of the widower) and unloaded. Jeane helped me move the communion table and dress it up. Jeane then pinned some of the items to represent Susie (instead of her ashes), including her favorite hats, slippers, favorite Nikes, glasses, and her new ice skates. It looked great.

Shawn had 700+ pictures and movies playing on the dual projectors in the sanctuary. Barb C was correct; this added more to the service. Excellent.

I had two long tables, and I got help arranging items from Susie’s life on them. I wanted it to look more like a retirement party than a funeral. Everyone helped scatter the items. Later, Michelle V found Susie’s grading sheets from 1970 and read them to folks. The display was well received.

The Windows laptop computer I brought to play the video of Susie’s skating program in 1980 was bricked. For those not up on their computer speak, it would not start–as useful as a brick. I had to play Susie’s ice skating on the Apple I bought for emergencies. I forgot to check the Windows machine this morning.

I had no sign-in book for folks or ushers—I did not want them. It was more of a concert experience than a funeral. I found myself having something to do: greeting people and sometimes seating them. This was good; I got to see everyone and was the only person who knew everyone. It was quite a mixed crowd of Nike, skating, church, and gaming folks. I did not get a count, likely less than 100.

We started five minutes late; I sat with Mariah near the front to thank folks during the service. Rev. Anne Weld-Marten got us going and was surprisingly brief. She introduced Jack, who sang an excellent version of Goin’ Home with Ashley accompanying him on the piano. Thanks to you both!

Soon, John played a mix of songs that flowed into the next one without stopping. John Nilsen always surprises me with the number of notes he gets from the grand piano in the sanctuary. John, playing and smiling as he found new things and brought them together while he played, found The Beatles, Beethoven’s 9th (an Easter hymn for Methodists: 89. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee), and his own music while playing fast and loud (my request). John said a few words and played another piece from his own writing. Thank you, John! See you in Michigan soon (18 May at Grace United Methodist at 2PM, Lansing). Susie would have loved the concert.

Rev. Steve Wolff-Lynn followed—he had come out of retirement to help. Steve recalled a few of his experiences with Susie, including how she took him to every bar in Beaverton to sample the local gin and tonics. Susie was head of personnel at the church for Steve’s first years there. Rev. Steve then said the words to send Susie off from the Methodist Book of Worship. We then broke and headed out.

As usual, some folks left, but a good number followed me; I had to lead to Wesley Hall, and there, the church had prepared no-bake cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches–Susie’s favorites. There was Methodist Punch (Fresca and lime sherbert) and coffee. Folks stayed until almost 6PM; the Nike folks love a good party. I bought a set of John’s sheet music, he signed it, and I commended it to the music department at the church.

It was an excellent party.

When the last guest left, I got help packing up and soon was headed out. The usual Methodist crew was cleaning up. The church did a fantastic job providing cookies, tables, and a friendly face for all our visitors. It was a good concert and felt more like a retirement party than a goodbye.

Air Volvo found its way back to the Volvo Cave. I carefully hung up my suit, and as usual, the pants fell off the hanger (why is it always like this?). A few minutes later, I found them at the bottom of the closet and put them on their own hanger. I headed out and watched the dreadfully boring Ghost Busters movie that just came out. It is a sin to make a dull movie. Apparently, word was out; there were few of us at the showing. The popcorn was good, and the middle of the film was good. I got my kid-sized water, as anything more significant means this diabetic will not make it to the movie’s end.

After returning, I was worn out and went to bed early. I was happy the concert worked and felt the weight and grief lift slightly.

Thanks to everyone who made the concert work, everyone who came, and those who thought about us on Saturday. See you in Michigan in May.

Thanks for reading!