I arrived in Ohio on August 12th, around 3am. I was so dazed, that as soon as the train was stopped, I proceeded to attempt to exit the train. I did not notice that we had not yet pulled into the station. The conductor man held my arm, keeping me from walking a good eighth of a mile on stones with two pieces of luggage, amusing as that might have been for him.
It was so good to see Ivana! We talked until six in the morning, naturally. Thursday was over before it began, and we never fully recovered from the all-nighter. (We discovered that we particularly have a need to sleep in the nighttime; day simply won't do.)
In the late afternoon, we met up with Kara and Rick, a 3/5 STEP team reunion! At Kara and Rick's wedding last summer, Rick called us his STEP team-in-law: precious. We had such lovely conversation Thursday evening. Every time I see these girls, I feel as though our bond has grown deeper, as we see each other in new environs. We talked about changes, God, education. I played with their miniature dachshund.
On Friday morning, Ivana took Philip and I through a workout at a nearby gym. I was sore until yesterday. Also, I had the chance twice in five days to sport my summer-camp-special knowledge of the Hoedown Throwdown, to undeserved applause.
Afterward, Ivana, her mom, Dawn, and I toured Harry London's chocolate factory. Chocolate. Chocolate...
We then met Ivana's childhood friend/brother at the airport where he works. It was tearful and difficult, as he had removed himself from them two years before and Ivana had missed any chance of seeing him in recent history by being out of the country. We left with a promise from him that he would visit soon: breakfast, if he was able to wake up for it.
Quickly recovering equanimity, we went to see the last three quarters of the movie Ramona and Beezus at a $1.50 theater. The best part was the man who had come alone, sitting behind us, laughing hysterically at the funny parts, and repeating his favorite lines throughout. As a movie-talker myself, I sympathized deeply, enjoying the experience all the more for the joy in stereo quality.
And so Friday ended with games and fun at the DuBose house, and a late night of talking, I am pretty sure.
Saturday contained a DuBose family reunion. How lovely to see them with family! And a lovely family, at that. We stayed in the kitchen for hours, talking and feasting. In the evening, Ivana pulled out canvases and paints and we set to work on being creative!
On Sunday we attended church. The pastor spoke on I Corinthians xiii, substituting “Love” for “Jesus.” “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, he does not boast...”
We made enchiladas for lunch and ate together. The DuBose manner of table conversation goes like this:
Person 1: Did you guys see Linda at church today?
Person 2: Who's Linda?
Person 3: She's the lady with the loud dog!
P2: Oh! You mean the lady who carries the huge red purse?
P3: No, that's Mrs. Simmons. Linda's the lady with the curly hair who lives on Grant.
P4: Amy Grant was on TV last night with P. Diddy. They were singing together!
P2: You lie!
P3: [Insert Amy Grant impression].
[Laughter, all.]
P1: [quietly, unheard] I have Linda's bowl from the church picnic still.
Monday. Ivana and I agreed that my stay had not been long enough. We still had not completed all the requisite activities that Canton had to offer, including passing by the football hall of fame (not even going inside, really; and merely because it exists, not because I have any care for football), going shopping,...other stuff. We visited the Warther's museum. What can't a person do who doesn't watch television!?!
In the evening, we attended the O'Jays' (they sing “Love Train”) scholarship banquet. A reception took place in the Football Hall of Fame, then we moved outside into a tent for the meal and the speakers. The food was lame. But we looked good! And we had a good time talking with the people at the table. The speaker was some guy from CNN. When we got back home, we were exhausted. I was pensive and ready for sleep. But we stayed up til 3 am to wait for the train.
